this for?’ one of them asked. ‘He’s all of twelve.’
They went back upstairs and Jake heard them disembark.
‘This is ridiculous, I can’t do it,’ he said out loud as he emerged from Nathan’s cabin. He went back up the stairs, then stopped, turned and came down again. He took his parents’ passports out of his pocket and studied their pictures.
‘What if they don’t care enough about saving my family …?’ he said to himself – and once again his mind was made up. Just then, he noticed the hatch set into the floor. He opened it and saw a ladder leading down into the dark hull of the ship.
Like the Escape , this one had been converted to steam : an engine resembling a large Aga range was discernible in the gloom. Amongst the piles of wood and crates of food there were shadowy places to hide, and Jake carefully descended the ladder and closed the hatch behind him. He felt his way through the blackness to the bow and settled down amongst a pile of boxes.
He realized he was still wearing his ‘charmless’ school uniform, and couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret at missing his appointment with Signor Gondolfino. He longed more than ever to belong to this more magical and elegant time.
Within a few minutes Jake heard the muffled voices of people assembling on the quay. Then the ship rocked as the crew climbed aboard. Nathan was giving some kind of impromptu speech, using phrases like ‘for glory’ and ‘for the good of mankind’. Then Topaz issued the order to set sail, a cry went up and the ship lurched as she was untied from her mooring.
Jake was suddenly gripped with panic: he must make his presence known.
But he didn’t move.
Even though it was pitch-black, he closed his eyes and thought of his parents, trapped in a dungeon, starving , awaiting their torturer. He thought of his brother, Philip – how he would ruffle Jake’s hair when he was feeling down. On a wet camping holiday in the New Forest, Philip had once stayed up all night to protect Jake from the killer his little brother imagined lurking in the woods. Older brothers weren’t usually so kind, but Philip wasn’t like anyone else’s older brother.
As the ship moved away from the pier, Jake felt his stomach turn over, and he was sure he heard his aunt say, ‘Where on earth is Jake? I suppose he must have dropped off …’
An hour later Jake was feeling very cramped and more than a little seasick. In the dining area upstairs he could hear the muffled voices of Nathan, Topaz and Charlie Chieverley. Someone was cooking, and tempting smells were wafting down, making Jake’s stomach rumble.
He had pins and needles down one leg, so he carefully shifted to a more comfortable position. When he saw the two tiny yellow eyes staring at him from the blackness, he shrieked out loud, shot back and knocked over a pile of boxes. Panting with fear, he gazed around, scanning the darkness. The eyes flashed again, and a rat scurried across the space into the shadows.
‘Rats! I hate rats!’ he found himself cursing.
Jake realized that the voices had stopped. A moment later the hatch creaked open, and in a flash Nathan was at the foot of the ladder, his drawn sword in front of him.
‘Identify yourself or die!’ he commanded in a deep, menacing voice.
Jake picked himself up and put his hands in the air.
‘What the hell were you thinking?’ Nathan demanded, banging his fist on the table.
Jake was standing uneasily in the dining area, facing three sets of unsmiling eyes (four, counting Mr Drake’s). Like Nathan, Topaz and Charlie had changed into sixteenth-century clothes. Topaz looked beautiful in a creamy silk gown with a square neck and trumpet-shaped sleeves. Charlie, who managed to appear like a young scientist whatever he put on, wore a doublet and hose in small red check, along with a felt cap that had a feather in it.
‘Do you think this is some kind of game?’ Nathan continued. ‘We are on a mission. There are lives at
They went back upstairs and Jake heard them disembark.
‘This is ridiculous, I can’t do it,’ he said out loud as he emerged from Nathan’s cabin. He went back up the stairs, then stopped, turned and came down again. He took his parents’ passports out of his pocket and studied their pictures.
‘What if they don’t care enough about saving my family …?’ he said to himself – and once again his mind was made up. Just then, he noticed the hatch set into the floor. He opened it and saw a ladder leading down into the dark hull of the ship.
Like the Escape , this one had been converted to steam : an engine resembling a large Aga range was discernible in the gloom. Amongst the piles of wood and crates of food there were shadowy places to hide, and Jake carefully descended the ladder and closed the hatch behind him. He felt his way through the blackness to the bow and settled down amongst a pile of boxes.
He realized he was still wearing his ‘charmless’ school uniform, and couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret at missing his appointment with Signor Gondolfino. He longed more than ever to belong to this more magical and elegant time.
Within a few minutes Jake heard the muffled voices of people assembling on the quay. Then the ship rocked as the crew climbed aboard. Nathan was giving some kind of impromptu speech, using phrases like ‘for glory’ and ‘for the good of mankind’. Then Topaz issued the order to set sail, a cry went up and the ship lurched as she was untied from her mooring.
Jake was suddenly gripped with panic: he must make his presence known.
But he didn’t move.
Even though it was pitch-black, he closed his eyes and thought of his parents, trapped in a dungeon, starving , awaiting their torturer. He thought of his brother, Philip – how he would ruffle Jake’s hair when he was feeling down. On a wet camping holiday in the New Forest, Philip had once stayed up all night to protect Jake from the killer his little brother imagined lurking in the woods. Older brothers weren’t usually so kind, but Philip wasn’t like anyone else’s older brother.
As the ship moved away from the pier, Jake felt his stomach turn over, and he was sure he heard his aunt say, ‘Where on earth is Jake? I suppose he must have dropped off …’
An hour later Jake was feeling very cramped and more than a little seasick. In the dining area upstairs he could hear the muffled voices of Nathan, Topaz and Charlie Chieverley. Someone was cooking, and tempting smells were wafting down, making Jake’s stomach rumble.
He had pins and needles down one leg, so he carefully shifted to a more comfortable position. When he saw the two tiny yellow eyes staring at him from the blackness, he shrieked out loud, shot back and knocked over a pile of boxes. Panting with fear, he gazed around, scanning the darkness. The eyes flashed again, and a rat scurried across the space into the shadows.
‘Rats! I hate rats!’ he found himself cursing.
Jake realized that the voices had stopped. A moment later the hatch creaked open, and in a flash Nathan was at the foot of the ladder, his drawn sword in front of him.
‘Identify yourself or die!’ he commanded in a deep, menacing voice.
Jake picked himself up and put his hands in the air.
‘What the hell were you thinking?’ Nathan demanded, banging his fist on the table.
Jake was standing uneasily in the dining area, facing three sets of unsmiling eyes (four, counting Mr Drake’s). Like Nathan, Topaz and Charlie had changed into sixteenth-century clothes. Topaz looked beautiful in a creamy silk gown with a square neck and trumpet-shaped sleeves. Charlie, who managed to appear like a young scientist whatever he put on, wore a doublet and hose in small red check, along with a felt cap that had a feather in it.
‘Do you think this is some kind of game?’ Nathan continued. ‘We are on a mission. There are lives at
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