out of the house. When at last they were finished, all that was left were seven small suitcases, one for each of them to take on the ship.
“Good-bye, house,” said Marfa.
“Farewell, England,” said Daniel.
“We hope you’ll be alright without us,” the intrepid Shapiro and the fearless O’Toole said together.
Jacob Two-Two sniffled a little. He didn’t like leaving old things behind, and he didn’t like encountering new things. He felt his father’s hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Jacob. Everything will be fine.”
“Will it? Will it?” Jacob asked too quietly for anyone to hear. A black London taxicab pulled up to take them all to the port.
CHAPTER 3
s Jacob got out of the taxicab, he stared at the ship docked in the port. It was old and rusty and looked more like a big tugboat than a real ocean liner. The black letters spelling out the name SS
Spring-a-Leak
were chipped and faded.
“That’s our ship?” Daniel said, as the taxi drove away. “It’s a floating dump.”
“Well, it was the only ship available,” Jacob’s father said. “Now come on, kids, where’s your sense of adventure?”
“We forgot to pack it,” Marfa said.
Jacob’s parents went up the gangplank first, followed by Daniel and Marfa and Emma and Noah, and finally Jacob, pushing up his suitcase. At least, he was supposed to be pushing it up the gangplank. Mostly it appeared as though the suitcase was pushing him
down
. But at last he reached the deck, where a man in a bright, white uniform and cap stood at attention. He had blue eyes, blond hair, and an enormous dimple in his chin. His white teeth shone even brighter than his brass buttons.
“Welcome aboard!” said the man, smiling even more. “I’m Captain Sparkletooth. It’s my job to make sure that you have a smooth ride all the way. Without me, this ship can’t go anywhere. Yes, it takes great skill, knowledge, and courage to be the captain, not to mention good looks. It’s true that I got the lowest marks in my class at naval training school, but I was voted most handsome. For those of you who care to know about our route, we will be sailing in a northeast direction.”
“Excuse me, Captain,” said a short man in a blue uniform. “Actually, we’ll be sailing in a southwest direction.”
“Yes, of course. That’s what I meant. This is theship’s first mate, Mr. Scrounger. I don’t have the foggiest idea why he’s called the first mate since there’s no second mate, but that’s how we do things on a boat.”
“ A
ship
, sir. We call it a ship.”
“Right, a ship. Now, if you’ll all go and put your suitcases into your rooms–”
“Cabins, sir.”
“I mean cabins. Meanwhile, I’ll go to the place where I, uh, drive the ship.”
“The wheelhouse.”
“What a funny name. Anyway, I’m going to go there and pull the whistle. It makes a wonderful tooting noise. Whenever I pull the whistle, the crew jumps into action, running every which way, climbing here and there. It’s wonderful to see. I get a kick out of it every time. Now, I hope you will dine at my table tonight. It’s a great honor to dine at the captain’s table, especially when he is as deliriously handsome as I am. Which reminds me – I haven’t looked at myself in a mirror for at least ten minutes. Until dinner then!”
The captain turned, took a step, and slipped on a coiled rope. It was a good thing that Mr. Scrounger was there to catch him. Jacob suspected that the firstmate was used to catching the captain. Going down a winding metal staircase on the way to their cabins, Jacob heard the shrill
toot! toot!
of the whistle. Captain Sparkletooth must have really been enjoying himself.
Jacob Two-Two felt the ship slowly begin to move. They were heading out to sea!
CHAPTER 4
acob Two-Two soon discovered that the SS
Spring-a-Leak
didn’t attract just any ordinary passengers. On the deck, after unpacking his suitcase, Jacob met the Bubov Brothers, three acrobats
“Good-bye, house,” said Marfa.
“Farewell, England,” said Daniel.
“We hope you’ll be alright without us,” the intrepid Shapiro and the fearless O’Toole said together.
Jacob Two-Two sniffled a little. He didn’t like leaving old things behind, and he didn’t like encountering new things. He felt his father’s hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Jacob. Everything will be fine.”
“Will it? Will it?” Jacob asked too quietly for anyone to hear. A black London taxicab pulled up to take them all to the port.
CHAPTER 3
s Jacob got out of the taxicab, he stared at the ship docked in the port. It was old and rusty and looked more like a big tugboat than a real ocean liner. The black letters spelling out the name SS
Spring-a-Leak
were chipped and faded.
“That’s our ship?” Daniel said, as the taxi drove away. “It’s a floating dump.”
“Well, it was the only ship available,” Jacob’s father said. “Now come on, kids, where’s your sense of adventure?”
“We forgot to pack it,” Marfa said.
Jacob’s parents went up the gangplank first, followed by Daniel and Marfa and Emma and Noah, and finally Jacob, pushing up his suitcase. At least, he was supposed to be pushing it up the gangplank. Mostly it appeared as though the suitcase was pushing him
down
. But at last he reached the deck, where a man in a bright, white uniform and cap stood at attention. He had blue eyes, blond hair, and an enormous dimple in his chin. His white teeth shone even brighter than his brass buttons.
“Welcome aboard!” said the man, smiling even more. “I’m Captain Sparkletooth. It’s my job to make sure that you have a smooth ride all the way. Without me, this ship can’t go anywhere. Yes, it takes great skill, knowledge, and courage to be the captain, not to mention good looks. It’s true that I got the lowest marks in my class at naval training school, but I was voted most handsome. For those of you who care to know about our route, we will be sailing in a northeast direction.”
“Excuse me, Captain,” said a short man in a blue uniform. “Actually, we’ll be sailing in a southwest direction.”
“Yes, of course. That’s what I meant. This is theship’s first mate, Mr. Scrounger. I don’t have the foggiest idea why he’s called the first mate since there’s no second mate, but that’s how we do things on a boat.”
“ A
ship
, sir. We call it a ship.”
“Right, a ship. Now, if you’ll all go and put your suitcases into your rooms–”
“Cabins, sir.”
“I mean cabins. Meanwhile, I’ll go to the place where I, uh, drive the ship.”
“The wheelhouse.”
“What a funny name. Anyway, I’m going to go there and pull the whistle. It makes a wonderful tooting noise. Whenever I pull the whistle, the crew jumps into action, running every which way, climbing here and there. It’s wonderful to see. I get a kick out of it every time. Now, I hope you will dine at my table tonight. It’s a great honor to dine at the captain’s table, especially when he is as deliriously handsome as I am. Which reminds me – I haven’t looked at myself in a mirror for at least ten minutes. Until dinner then!”
The captain turned, took a step, and slipped on a coiled rope. It was a good thing that Mr. Scrounger was there to catch him. Jacob suspected that the firstmate was used to catching the captain. Going down a winding metal staircase on the way to their cabins, Jacob heard the shrill
toot! toot!
of the whistle. Captain Sparkletooth must have really been enjoying himself.
Jacob Two-Two felt the ship slowly begin to move. They were heading out to sea!
CHAPTER 4
acob Two-Two soon discovered that the SS
Spring-a-Leak
didn’t attract just any ordinary passengers. On the deck, after unpacking his suitcase, Jacob met the Bubov Brothers, three acrobats
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