your help. What then?’
‘I don’t know …’
‘It seems to me that in order to prevent Mr Wicker from seizing the astrolabe, we must first let him seize the astrolabe.’
‘A paradox!’ exclaimed Mr Flynn. ‘Pray explain it, Captain.’
‘There is little to explain,’ said the captain. ‘Wicker knows where the astrolabe is. We do not. We must wait until he finds the astrolabe, and once he has it we must take it from him.’
‘But how do we do that?’ asked Mr Flynn.
‘The way is standing right before you, Daniel,’ said Captain Bass, and he took one hand off the wheel and pointed directly at me.
The little man’s eyes widened, and then he slowly smiled. ‘I see,’ he said, ‘set a thief to catch a thief!’
I did not like the way this conversation was going. In the first case, I was not a thief; in the second, I feared the consequences should I be persuaded to double cross Mr Wicker. I had already twice been lost in his powerful eyes and with astonishing consequences. I dreaded to think what might happen to me if I should be forced to swim in those dark waters again.
While these thoughts were racing through my mind, the men were silent. I now glanced up to see them each looking at me expectantly, Mr Flynn grinning, the captain curious.
‘I’m not a thief!’ I said.
‘Of course you’re not,’ said the captain. ‘But we’re not really asking you to be a thief. We are only asking you to return property that rightfully belongs to Daniel Flynnhere. It is, after all, his astrolabe. He made it and somehow lost it. If anybody is a thief, it would be your Mr Wicker.’
‘I couldn’t anyway,’ I said. ‘Mr Wicker controls me. He has power over me. I’m afraid of what he would do if I were to prove treacherous.’
‘Doing what is right is no treachery,’ said Captain Bass.
‘Anyway,’ insisted Mr Flynn, ‘look at your wings. You can fly!’
I shook my head vehemently. ‘No,’ I said, ‘you don’t understand. I can fly, surely, but only with Mr Wicker’s leave. If and when he wants me back he can summon me somehow, as if I were a kite on a string, and I must obey. If I tried to flee from him with the astrolabe — which I think is what you are suggesting — he would pull me back at once and, I don’t know, turn me into a worm or a centipede or something …’
‘Yes,’ agreed Mr Flynn, ‘yes, he probably would.’
I glanced at him with irritation. He said it as though it might have been a good idea, as if it were the solution to a problem. I think Captain Bass sensed something similar, for he now glanced at Mr Flynn with the same curious expression he had directed just before at me.
Then he sighed, ‘This is doubly difficult. I can see no way of extricating the astrolabe from wherever it is without the aid of our little friend here, but to enlist his aid, as he most rightly points out, could put him in grave danger.’
‘Even if it were possible,’ I added.
‘Even if it were possible,’ agreed the captain.
‘So what to do?’ asked Mr Flynn.
‘We must relieve the danger,’ said the captain. ‘We must ensure that our little Loblolly Boy is no longer in the thrall of, no longer beholden to, Mr Wicker.’
‘Scissors!’ said Mr Flynn.
‘Scissors?’ said the captain. ‘I’m not sure what you mean, Daniel.’
I wasn’t sure either, but Daniel Flynn looked excited. He rubbed his hands together and looked between us, eyes shining and his hair fluffing and flying in the wind.
‘Would you care to explain?’ asked the captain.
‘The loblolly boy has just told us that Mr Wicker can summon him back at any time, that it is as if he were on a string.’
‘Yes?’ said the captain.
‘Don’t you see?’ cried Mr Flynn. ‘Scissors! We simply cut that string!’
I gazed at him with a welling disappointment. For a few moments I had been so captivated by his excitement and his enthusiasm, I really thought he may have had the answer to the
‘I don’t know …’
‘It seems to me that in order to prevent Mr Wicker from seizing the astrolabe, we must first let him seize the astrolabe.’
‘A paradox!’ exclaimed Mr Flynn. ‘Pray explain it, Captain.’
‘There is little to explain,’ said the captain. ‘Wicker knows where the astrolabe is. We do not. We must wait until he finds the astrolabe, and once he has it we must take it from him.’
‘But how do we do that?’ asked Mr Flynn.
‘The way is standing right before you, Daniel,’ said Captain Bass, and he took one hand off the wheel and pointed directly at me.
The little man’s eyes widened, and then he slowly smiled. ‘I see,’ he said, ‘set a thief to catch a thief!’
I did not like the way this conversation was going. In the first case, I was not a thief; in the second, I feared the consequences should I be persuaded to double cross Mr Wicker. I had already twice been lost in his powerful eyes and with astonishing consequences. I dreaded to think what might happen to me if I should be forced to swim in those dark waters again.
While these thoughts were racing through my mind, the men were silent. I now glanced up to see them each looking at me expectantly, Mr Flynn grinning, the captain curious.
‘I’m not a thief!’ I said.
‘Of course you’re not,’ said the captain. ‘But we’re not really asking you to be a thief. We are only asking you to return property that rightfully belongs to Daniel Flynnhere. It is, after all, his astrolabe. He made it and somehow lost it. If anybody is a thief, it would be your Mr Wicker.’
‘I couldn’t anyway,’ I said. ‘Mr Wicker controls me. He has power over me. I’m afraid of what he would do if I were to prove treacherous.’
‘Doing what is right is no treachery,’ said Captain Bass.
‘Anyway,’ insisted Mr Flynn, ‘look at your wings. You can fly!’
I shook my head vehemently. ‘No,’ I said, ‘you don’t understand. I can fly, surely, but only with Mr Wicker’s leave. If and when he wants me back he can summon me somehow, as if I were a kite on a string, and I must obey. If I tried to flee from him with the astrolabe — which I think is what you are suggesting — he would pull me back at once and, I don’t know, turn me into a worm or a centipede or something …’
‘Yes,’ agreed Mr Flynn, ‘yes, he probably would.’
I glanced at him with irritation. He said it as though it might have been a good idea, as if it were the solution to a problem. I think Captain Bass sensed something similar, for he now glanced at Mr Flynn with the same curious expression he had directed just before at me.
Then he sighed, ‘This is doubly difficult. I can see no way of extricating the astrolabe from wherever it is without the aid of our little friend here, but to enlist his aid, as he most rightly points out, could put him in grave danger.’
‘Even if it were possible,’ I added.
‘Even if it were possible,’ agreed the captain.
‘So what to do?’ asked Mr Flynn.
‘We must relieve the danger,’ said the captain. ‘We must ensure that our little Loblolly Boy is no longer in the thrall of, no longer beholden to, Mr Wicker.’
‘Scissors!’ said Mr Flynn.
‘Scissors?’ said the captain. ‘I’m not sure what you mean, Daniel.’
I wasn’t sure either, but Daniel Flynn looked excited. He rubbed his hands together and looked between us, eyes shining and his hair fluffing and flying in the wind.
‘Would you care to explain?’ asked the captain.
‘The loblolly boy has just told us that Mr Wicker can summon him back at any time, that it is as if he were on a string.’
‘Yes?’ said the captain.
‘Don’t you see?’ cried Mr Flynn. ‘Scissors! We simply cut that string!’
I gazed at him with a welling disappointment. For a few moments I had been so captivated by his excitement and his enthusiasm, I really thought he may have had the answer to the
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