will be deep in the Sedah Sea. The following night we can patrol back and forth about here. We will aim to intercept the Sea Dragon somewhere here at about three o’clock in the morning.
‘Most of them will be asleep then,’ Fox continued. ‘They will be close to home and feeling confident. They won’t be expecting any trouble. Now do you have any idea where they might be hiding this thing you are after?’
They had discussed this very question during the day. For something as valuable as the Moon Pearl and the Star Diamonds, they thought it could only be kept somewhere in the captain’s cabin.
‘The plan will be to try to get as close to the stern of the Sea Dragon in the dark as we can,’ Fox said. ‘We will use grappling hooks to tie a rope between us and the ship.’ He looked curiously at the children. ‘Are any of you handy with those bows you carry?’
‘Ethan is brilliant with a bow, but we can all shoot reasonably well,’ replied Lily.
‘Good.’ Fox grinned. ‘I have arrows that are designed to pull a light but strong rope. Ethan, I willneed you to shoot it into the Sea Dragon ’s stern when we are close enough. Then we will use the rowboat to surf along behind them.’
The children grinned at each other in excitement.
‘The five of us will sneak on board the Sea Dragon from the rowboat, gain access to the captain’s cabin and search for your possession,’ Fox continued. ‘Hopefully there will be something there to make it worth my while as well. We will slip back to the rowboat, cast off and get picked up later by my crew. What do you think?’
‘It sounds perfect,’ said Ethan, his eyes shining. ‘Do you really think we can do it?’
‘No,’ said Fox bluntly. ‘There are so many variables – whether we find the Sea Dragon at all in this vast ocean, whether we can catch them, whether they see us, what the weather is like.
‘We had all better pray for some cloud cover to hide this moon or they will see us kilometres away. But I promised to help you, the Lady only knows why. And this is the best plan I have come up with. So try and get lots of sleep between now and the night we find them. In the meantime, if we all want to eat tonight you had better get busy and catch us some fish.’
The four found some fishing rods and lures stowed in a locker. The lures were made to look like squid, with fat white bodies, huge black painted eyes and lots of purple and white trailing tentacles, with the hook hidden inside. The four of them sat on the stern, trailing fishing lines into the churning, white wake behind the Owl .
After ten minutes, Ethan was nearly hauled off the boat by a huge jerk from his fishing rod. Saxon dropped his rod and held onto Ethan, hauling him back onto the deck. Ethan started reeling the fish in, but it was much harder than he expected. The fish was fighting. He teased the fish, slowly hauling it in, then gently letting it out a little as the fish below struggled and floundered.
‘It must be a big one,’ cried Saxon in excitement. ‘It’s putting up a fearsome fight.’
Ethan nodded, his eyes shining in exhilaration, and his brow furrowed. Saxon wriggled and jiggled in anticipation, longing to help Ethan. Roana and Lily abandoned their own lines to watch in interest.
‘It’s so strong,’ gasped Ethan. ‘It feels like I’m pulling against a bucking horse!’
‘Let it out some more,’ encouraged Saxon. ‘You don’t want the line to snap.’
After fifteen minutes, the trapped creature wasobviously tiring, and Ethan had hauled it close to the stern.
‘Look at its head,’ Saxon cried. ‘It’s a real beauty.’
As its silver head reared out of the water, the fish struggled in a furious frenzy. Ethan slipped and dragged and hauled, the fishing rod straining in a tight curve. The huge fish arced up, closer and closer, until Saxon grasped its flailing body and helped drag it on board. It flipped and flopped on the deck, fighting to return to the
‘Most of them will be asleep then,’ Fox continued. ‘They will be close to home and feeling confident. They won’t be expecting any trouble. Now do you have any idea where they might be hiding this thing you are after?’
They had discussed this very question during the day. For something as valuable as the Moon Pearl and the Star Diamonds, they thought it could only be kept somewhere in the captain’s cabin.
‘The plan will be to try to get as close to the stern of the Sea Dragon in the dark as we can,’ Fox said. ‘We will use grappling hooks to tie a rope between us and the ship.’ He looked curiously at the children. ‘Are any of you handy with those bows you carry?’
‘Ethan is brilliant with a bow, but we can all shoot reasonably well,’ replied Lily.
‘Good.’ Fox grinned. ‘I have arrows that are designed to pull a light but strong rope. Ethan, I willneed you to shoot it into the Sea Dragon ’s stern when we are close enough. Then we will use the rowboat to surf along behind them.’
The children grinned at each other in excitement.
‘The five of us will sneak on board the Sea Dragon from the rowboat, gain access to the captain’s cabin and search for your possession,’ Fox continued. ‘Hopefully there will be something there to make it worth my while as well. We will slip back to the rowboat, cast off and get picked up later by my crew. What do you think?’
‘It sounds perfect,’ said Ethan, his eyes shining. ‘Do you really think we can do it?’
‘No,’ said Fox bluntly. ‘There are so many variables – whether we find the Sea Dragon at all in this vast ocean, whether we can catch them, whether they see us, what the weather is like.
‘We had all better pray for some cloud cover to hide this moon or they will see us kilometres away. But I promised to help you, the Lady only knows why. And this is the best plan I have come up with. So try and get lots of sleep between now and the night we find them. In the meantime, if we all want to eat tonight you had better get busy and catch us some fish.’
The four found some fishing rods and lures stowed in a locker. The lures were made to look like squid, with fat white bodies, huge black painted eyes and lots of purple and white trailing tentacles, with the hook hidden inside. The four of them sat on the stern, trailing fishing lines into the churning, white wake behind the Owl .
After ten minutes, Ethan was nearly hauled off the boat by a huge jerk from his fishing rod. Saxon dropped his rod and held onto Ethan, hauling him back onto the deck. Ethan started reeling the fish in, but it was much harder than he expected. The fish was fighting. He teased the fish, slowly hauling it in, then gently letting it out a little as the fish below struggled and floundered.
‘It must be a big one,’ cried Saxon in excitement. ‘It’s putting up a fearsome fight.’
Ethan nodded, his eyes shining in exhilaration, and his brow furrowed. Saxon wriggled and jiggled in anticipation, longing to help Ethan. Roana and Lily abandoned their own lines to watch in interest.
‘It’s so strong,’ gasped Ethan. ‘It feels like I’m pulling against a bucking horse!’
‘Let it out some more,’ encouraged Saxon. ‘You don’t want the line to snap.’
After fifteen minutes, the trapped creature wasobviously tiring, and Ethan had hauled it close to the stern.
‘Look at its head,’ Saxon cried. ‘It’s a real beauty.’
As its silver head reared out of the water, the fish struggled in a furious frenzy. Ethan slipped and dragged and hauled, the fishing rod straining in a tight curve. The huge fish arced up, closer and closer, until Saxon grasped its flailing body and helped drag it on board. It flipped and flopped on the deck, fighting to return to the
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