‘Benny’s a top chimp,’ Horace went on, ‘always up for a laugh. Although, a word of warning, Ruby, he can be a little flirtatious at times.’
‘Unlike your three sisters,’ Ruby muttered sarcastically as Hera, the eldest of the three rats, threw her head back and waved flirtatiously in Whisker’s direction.
Ruby shuffled closer to the clueless apprentice and the waving abruptly ceased.
As the canoe drew level with the Apple Pie, Whisker noticed a small black flag fluttering from its bow. Featuring the cheeky face of a chimpanzee with two crossed bananas, its slogan read Chimp-at-sea.
‘Oh, I get it,’ he murmured.
‘Nice pun, isn’t it?’ Horace chuckled as Mama Kolina and her three drenched daughters began climbing the rope ladder.
‘Humph,’ Ruby snorted. ‘From the state of those passengers, I’d consider changing it to Soaked-at-Sea.’
Benny Banana Peel, on seeing just how much seawater had flooded into his canoe, picked up a bucket of banana peels and, without emptying the contents, started bailing the water overboard.
‘Mi always gets stuck wit’ da bailing …’ he muttered to himself in a thick jungle accent.
Fred hauled the four rats over the bulwark and Horace rushed over to embrace his mother while Pete almost stumbled overboard in his haste to reach Athena.
‘Oh, my darling goddess,’ he wailed, throwing his bony arms around her.
‘Oh, my precious prince,’ she squealed, hugging him back.
‘Oh, I’m going to be sick,’ Ruby gagged.
As was the Freeforian way, there was much hugging and kissing of cheeks for some time.
Ruby’s folded arms and aggressive stance ensured that the only kisses that touched Whisker’s cheeks were from Mama Kolina.
‘My dear boys,’ Mama Kolina said, addressing Horace and Whisker together, ‘you must be wondering why I sent you that message.’
‘We were a little puzzled about it, Mama,’ Horace said politely. ‘But then we thought you were probably just trying to protect us – you know, with that killer volcano erupting overhead.’
‘The volcano?’ Mama Kolina said in confusion, spinning to face the island. ‘What eruption?’
‘Err, the nasty big column of smoke billowing out of the crater,’ Horace said. ‘Or didn’t you notice it?’
Mama Kolina placed her paws on his shoulders and shook her head in pity. ‘Oh, my darling son. You still have so much to learn. There was no eruption.’
‘No eruption!’ Horace exclaimed, thrusting his hook repeatedly towards the volcano. ‘Then how in Ratbeard’s name do you explain all that smoke?’
‘That’s simple, brother,’ Athena said, peering down at him through rose-tinted glasses. ‘The smoke was from the new gold mine.’
‘The gold mine?’ Horace gasped. ‘But mining involves digging, not burning half a mountain down.’
‘A fair point,’ Athena said with a shrug. ‘But our mine is different. Our mine produces its own coins on site.’
‘So there’s a coin mint in the volcano,’ Madam Pearl said, joining the conversation.
‘Why, of course,’ Athena said, as if it were common knowledge. ‘The smoke is produced by the large furnace used to melt the gold. The entire operation is carried out in the caves beneath the volcano and the smoke escapes through the ventilation shaft in the floor of the crater. The workers must have run out of dry wood and started burning green timber and banana leaves to create so much smoke.’
‘That’s very knowledgeable of you, Athena dear,’ Pete said proudly, wrapping his bony arm around her shoulder. ‘You’re becoming quite the mining expert.’
‘She only knows what we tell her,’ Hera said, glaring at her sister. ‘Athena hasn’t gone anywhere near the mine since it’s been in operation. She sits at home reading text books while Aphrodite and I have all the real adventures.’
‘Is that so?’ Athena snorted. ‘I’d hardly call standing at the mine gates, flirting with a bunch of unkempt meerkats an adventure.’ She turned back to Pete. ‘It’s pathetic, really. They have it in their heads that the meerkats will offer them a mine tour, when not even Papa Niko is allowed inside the mountain, and he’s the tribal chief.’
‘Speaking of Papa Niko,’ Horace said, looking around. ‘Where is he?’
Mama Kolina’s face darkened. ‘Papa Niko is the reason we came to see you and the reason I sent you that message. It seems he has disappeared.’
‘Disappeared?’ Horace gasped. ‘Have the pirates captured him?’
‘What pirates?’ Aphrodite said in alarm. ‘Are there pirates chasing after you? What have you done this time, Horace?’ She rushed to the starboard side bulwark and peered out to sea. ‘Where are they? I can’t see anything.’
‘We don’t know their exact whereabouts, my dear,’ the Captain said, trying to calm her down. ‘And they have no quarrel with Horace or the rest of my crew. They are, however, interested in your new gold mine.’
‘The new gold mine!’ Aphrodite burst out. ‘But that’s where Papa vanished. He went there at dawn and he should have returned hours ago. Hera and I went looking for him, but we found the entrance gates padlocked shut and no one in sight.’
‘Oh dear,’ Fred murmured. ‘Oh double dear.’
The Captain turned to Mama Kolina, a frown etched across his brow. ‘I think a few explanations are in order, madam. Perhaps you’d care to join me in the navigation room. I’ll have Fred prepare some refreshments.’
Mama Kolina nodded her acceptance and began ushering her distraught daughters through the doorway. Fred scampered below with Emmie to prepare a round of pies and the Captain issued orders to his crew. ‘Mr Tribble, Eaton and Chatterbeak, I want each of you to spread out along the deck and remain on watch. Smudge, keep a lookout from the mast. The rest of you, come with me.’
Inside the navigation room, nine rats and a weasel squeezed themselves around the table. With a shortage of chairs, Athena sat in Pete’s lap and Ruby and Whisker shared a small barrel together, much to the dismay of Hera.
As Emmie served an assortment of cold pies and raspberry juice, Mama Kolina began to explain the events of the morning. ‘It began just before dawn. I was woken by a strange squawking sound from outside my window. Papa Niko is a heavy sleeper so I left him snoring and went to investigate myself. I opened the front door to find three albatrosses waiting on the porch. They looked wet and tired and had obviously been flying through the night. One of them carried a message for the tribal chief and insisted it was for his eyes only. When I told them to come back after breakfast, they said the message was urgent and that I was to wake Papa Niko immediately.
‘Now I do not take kindly to strangers telling me what to do in my own home but, when the birds refused to leave, I reluctantly woke Papa Niko and informed him of their arrival. He read the message in his study and composed a reply while the birds waited in the garden. When his letter was complete, he spoke to them in private for several minutes before they disappeared into the night.’
‘We saw an albatross heading west soon after dawn,’ Horace said.
‘And there was a second one perched near the lighthouse,’ Whisker added. ‘Do you think they were the same birds?’
Mama Kolina nodded. ‘The third Albatross is currently sitting on the dock. We passed him on our way down the river.’
‘So what was the nature of their message?’ the Captain asked.
‘Papa Niko did not tell me,’ Mama Kolina replied with a frown. ‘He burnt the letter straight after the birds had left, saying he did not want to create a public panic. It is no secret that certain members of our family have a reputation for gossiping and he probably thought it was safest if he dealt with things on his own.’
The three sisters glared accusingly at each other.
‘And how did Papa end up at the mine?’ Horace asked.
‘Your father said he needed to talk to the head geologist,’ Mama Kolina explained. ‘It must have been extremely i
mportant because he left without breakfast.’
‘Shiver me hunger pains!’ Horace said in alarm. ‘Papa never misses breakfast.’
‘And that is not all,’ Mama Kolina said anxiously. ‘Before your father left for the gold mine he gave me one simple instruction: stop any visitors from landing on West Freeforia. He did not give me an explanation. He simply told me to send word to the dock and to the lighthouse as quickly and as quietly as possible.
‘I sent Hera and Aphrodite to pass on the message to Benny’s father in the boathouse, while I rushed to the headland with Athena to notify the lighthouse keeper. The old possum was asleep after his night shift so we decided to use his observation telescope to monitor the sea and sky ourselves. You can imagine our surprise when we spotted Horace and Whisker flying towards us on the back of that colourful parrot. It was Athena’s idea to send the signal code – and a fortunate thing that she did. The albatross you saw skulking around the clifftops had a message strapped to his leg and he was preparing to fly west the moment Chatterbeak landed.’
‘Do you think the birds are in cahoots with the pirates?’ Horace asked, pointing to a map on the table. ‘Dagger Island is roughly west of here.’
‘I’m not sure, Horace,’ the Captain said, stroking his chin. ‘No pirate captain would be foolish enough to give away their element of surprise by sending advance birds. Someone else could be behind their deployment.’
‘Someone who wanted to warn the miners of the attack,’ Whisker said. ‘Why else would Papa Niko rush to the mine at dawn? And why else would the mint stop production so suddenly?’
‘A very valid point, Whisker,’ the Captain said. ‘The column of smoke ceased shortly after dawn and Aphrodite tells us the entrance gates have since been locked.’
‘But that still doesn’t explain where Papa is now,’ Aphrodite said in frustration. ‘None of the meerkats came down to the village and their camp is empty.’
‘And you believe your father might be with them in the mine?’ the Captain said.
‘Hera and I did discuss it,’ Aphrodite admitted.
‘Well, you didn’t discuss it long enough,’ Athena said in a patronising tone. ‘As everyone knows, the meerkats never take visitors beyond the entrance gates. It’s against safety regulations.’
‘Says the girl who has never been anywhere near the mine,’ Hera muttered.
Ignoring the bickering sisters, the Captain turned to Mama Kolina.
‘Tell me more about these meerkats,’ he said. ‘Are they an honest bunch of workers?’
‘I can’t fault any of them,’ Mama Kolina said. ‘They live quietly in a camp on the outskirts of town and work in shifts. Every morning we see them marching through the jungle, spades over their shoulders, on their way to the mine. I have never seen so many spades in my life. The ground they are digging must be extremely hard. Every shipment that arrives at the dock from Aladrya seems to contain another crate of spades – large spades, small spades, shovels, hoes, you name it.’
‘Digging equipment aside,’ the Captain said, trying to remain focused, ‘there is still the question of this head geologist. What do we know about him?’
‘I am afraid there is not much to say,’ Mama Kolina replied. ‘I haven’t personally met him. He comes and goes at night and is often working abroad on other projects. For all I know, he is not even on the island right now. As long as the mine keeps producing gold, no one asks any questions.’
‘I’ve heard he’s a creature of style,’ Aphrodite chimed in. ‘One of the meerkats said he wears nothing but expensive black coats from Elderhorne. And you should hear the rumours about his walking cane. I’m told it has the most enormous pink diamond set into its hilt.’
Whisker felt his tail stand bolt upright. Was he hearing things correctly?
A cane with a pink diamond?
It couldn’t be, he thought. Surely not …
There was only one animal who owned a cane like that, and Whisker knew he was no geologist.
A Suit of Spades
While Whisker tried to come to grips with the startling revelation, Madam Pearl leaned forward in her chair, speaking for the first time.
‘I have seen a cane like that,’ she said. ‘A smartly-dressed meerkat brought it into my antiques shop in Port Abalilly several months ago. I remember it clearly. It was one of my last valuations before I was arrested on smuggling charges. The shaft of the cane was new, expertly crafted, concealing a razor-sharp sword blade. The diamond was indeed enormous and in perfect condition. It must have been well looked after, considering its age. As you all know, the last diamond discovery on Freeforia was made over a century ago. I informed the meerkat the cane was worth a small fortune but, judging by the nervous glances he gave me, I began to wonder if the cane had been stolen. When I started asking questions about its ownership he left in a hurry.’
‘He must have been one of the mining supervisors,’ Hera said. ‘I’ve never met the head geologist, but I’ve heard he isn’t a meerkat.’
‘Then what is he?’ Horace asked.
It was Whisker who answered, a cold tone to his voice. ‘He is a red fox,’ he said. ‘The same red fox I believe is holding my parents captive.’
There was a collective gasp of alarm from around the table.
‘Are you sure it’s him?’ Horace said in disbelief. ‘I mean, the fox with no name is a trader, not a geologist.’
‘I’m positive,’ Whisker said, touching a small scar on the side of his cheek. ‘His cane left quite an impression.’
‘Oh my!’ Mama Kolina said, staring at the apprentice. ‘Horace mentioned a fox had sold your parents’ boat to Rat Bait, but we never considered he had taken them prisoner. And we certainly never made the connection with the geologist.’
‘There’s a lot we don’t know about him,’ Whisker said, shaking his head. ‘Including where he is keeping my parents. But right now our concern is with the mine and the disappearance of Papa Niko. If you’ll listen, I have a story to share. At the time, I dismissed the details as irrelevant but, in light of what we have just discovered, I’m beginning to think differently.’
‘We’re all ears,’ the Captain said.
‘It happened during my visit to Two Shillings Cove,’ Whisker said, glancing around the table. ‘I was eating lunch with Frankie Belorio in the Fish ‘n Ships Inn. Most of you were there.’
Hera crossed her arms and frowned. ‘How could I forget? You abandoned me on the dance floor.’
‘Yeah, sorry about that,’ Whisker mumbled, sensing more than one rat was glaring at him. ‘I was a little distracted at the time. Anyway, it was while I was on the dance floor that I first noticed the fox. He was disappearing through a side door in one of his expensive black coats. I dropped everything –’
‘Dance partner included,’ Hera cut in.
Whisker sighed. ‘I dropped everything and everyone, and followed him down a passage, eventually finding myself on the balcony of the high rollers’ room. It was there I overheard the fox talking to two meerkats and a cloaked figure – I never saw his face.’
‘What were they talking about?’ Mama Kolina asked with interest.
‘I didn’t catch everything,’ Whisker said. ‘But they seemed to be discussing some kind of business venture. I heard them mention something about an increase in production and the need for more workers to meet a deadline.’
‘That sounds like mining talk,’ the Captain said thoughtfully. ‘Maybe the two meerkats were supervisors from the gold mine.’
‘Perhaps,’ Whisker said. ‘But there’s more. When the discussion was over the four animals began betting on a game of cards. From what I recall, the dealer called the game Four-Suited Showdown.’
‘I’ve heard of that game,’ Aphrodite chimed in. ‘The miners play it between shifts.’
Whisker nodded in acknowledgement. ‘From my position by the window, I had a clear view of the stranger’s cards. Over the course of the game, I watched him deliberately losing ro
und after round – even when he was guaranteed to win. What’s more disturbing is that the three remaining players each walked away with exactly one hundred Aladryan gold coins.’
‘So much for a random game of chance,’ Pete murmured. ‘I’d say our fox and his meerkat friends were receiving some kind of secret payoff from this mysterious stranger.’
‘My thoughts exactly,’ Whisker said. ‘And, judging by the ease with which the money changed hands, I suspect it wasn’t the first time such a game had taken place.’
‘Alright,’ the Captain said thoughtfully, ‘but that still leaves the question of why?’
‘It could be a black-market operation,’ Pete suggested. ‘Secret payoffs are often used to purchase illegal goods.’
‘Like spades,’ Horace chimed in. ‘Mama said the meerkats had an awful lot of spades.’
Pete screwed up his nose. ‘Spades aren’t black-market commodities, you dim-witted dugong. They’re common, everyday items. You can purchase them from any supply store with a gardening section.’
‘Fine,’ Horace sulked.
‘Hang on,’ Whisker said, refusing to dismiss Horace’s suggestion quite so quickly. ‘There’s something significant about all those spades.’
‘Such as?’ Pete pressed.
‘I’m not sure,’ Whisker said, gathering his thoughts. ‘Just give me a moment.’ He had a faint recollection of hearing spades mentioned on a previous occasion, but the memory hovered just out of reach.
Did it relate to the card game? he wondered.
Concentrating harder, he imagined himself back on the balcony of the high rollers’ room. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the interior of the room. Elegant wall paper, lush green felt, piles of coins … and cards – there were four suits of cards – hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades.
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