The Wreckers

by Gary Knowelden

  ‘Why are we in here?’ asks Bruce as they enter Edward’s bedroom. ‘We can’t do much exploring in here.’ ‘I was hoping Lucy and Sam might appear again,’ Edward replies. ‘Now I told you laddie, you don’t want to have anything to do with them or any other ghostie types – it will only lead to trouble.’ Edward laughs. ‘You’re still angry because they laughed at you – or perhaps you are scared of them?’ Bruce chokes. ‘Don’t be a lassie, I told you I am afraid of nothing.’ ‘Well in that case,’ Edward replies mockingly, ‘you won’t mind being given a guided tour of the caves by a pair of “wee ghosties”.’ Bruce makes a less than enthusiastic growl and then with more bravado says, ‘Great, let’s do it, let’s spend the day wandering through cold damp tunnels looking for a gang of cut throats.’ Bruce had hoped that yesterday was just a one-off and that he would never set eyes on that annoying girl and her even more annoying cat again.

  Edward sits on the bed trying to think how he can make contact with Lucy and Sam while Bruce stretches himself out on the rug and ignores Edward as he talks to himself. ‘Perhaps if I just open that little cupboard door and shout their names, maybe that would work? But what if one of the gang hears me instead? I don’t want that brute Scarface Sid to suddenly appear again.’ While these thoughts go through Edward’s head, Bruce is on the verge of drifting off into a delicious sleep. His eyes are becoming heavier and heavier. He likes nothing more than a nap after lunch – in fact, he likes nothing more than a nap at any time.

  Suddenly there is a loud ‘Boo!’ and Bruce nearly jumps out of his skin. Right next to him, the grinning head of Sam the cat suddenly appears. Gradually the rest of him materialises, with Lucy next to him. Sam laughs, as Bruce tries to save face by attempting to cover up the startled look on his face and replace it with a very cross look. ‘Do you have to keep appearing like that, scaring people half to death? Can’t you just knock on the door like normal folk?’ ‘But we are not normal folk; we are spooks, and as such have a duty to appear suddenly and scare people,’ says Lucy, laughing. ‘Anyway, I thought you were a fearless highland breed and scared of nothing,’ says Sam. ‘I was nae referring to myself when I said about you scaring folk; it’s the wee laddie I was meaning. I was nae scared, just startled a bit – just as anyone would be if an ugly cat like you kept appearing out of thin air,’ replied Bruce gruffly.

  ‘Anyway, what do you want? Shouldn’t you be off haunting somebody or whatever else you ghosties do to fill your day?’ ‘I said I would give you two a guided tour of the tunnels, that is if you are not afraid,’ says Lucy, glancing at Bruce. Bruce makes a strange noise in the back of his throat, but before he can rise to this latest tease, Edward excitedly interrupts. ‘Brilliant, and there is even more reason to explore the tunnels now,’ says Edward. ‘What do you mean?’ asks Lucy. Edward tells Lucy and Sam about Ponsonby and the overheard conversations in the hallway and at the pub in Dainton. ‘Hidden treasures and artworks,’ says Lucy dubiously. ‘I am not sure I have seen anything like that,’ she says thoughtfully. ‘Don’t forget the masterpiece that Seamus found,’ laughs Sam. Lucy looks puzzled, then grins when she remembers the picture of the flowers that Seamus got so angry about. ‘What happened to that picture? Did Horace destroy it?’ asks Edward thoughtfully. ‘No, daft Horace must have taken a shine to it because he hung it up in his bedroom.’ ‘Is it still there now?’ asks Edward intently. ‘Yes I think so,’ replies Lucy, ‘why are you so interested in that silly picture?’ Edward is silent for a while, then replies, ‘Oh no reason I was just wondering that’s all.’ ‘Well,’ says Lucy optimistically, ‘If there is any treasure down there, I am sure we will find it, there are plenty of storerooms down there full of crates and things. We did not take much notice as to what was in them – after all, it’s not likely to be of much use to us ghosts.’

  Lucy, followed by Sam, walks to the small door in the corner of the room. Without stopping, they walk right through the unopened door. ‘Heh! Wait for us,’ shouts Edward. ‘Come on Bruce.’ He quickly yanks the door open and ducks inside. Lucy and Sam are just visible in the gloomy interior. ‘Wait for us; remember we can’t just walk through doors like you two.’ ‘Sorry I forgot,’ says Lucy. As Edward’s eyes accustom to the gloom, he can see that the cupboard is pretty empty, with just a few items of junk stacked in the corner. The walls are wood panelled like the panelling in the rest of the house. Lucy runs her hand along the back wall as though she is looking for something. Suddenly her hand stops on a slightly protruding knot in the wood. She pushes this and instantly the panel next to her hand slides opens. ‘Wow, a secret door!’ Edward shouts excitedly.

  ‘It’s a bit dark in there,’ says Edward, looking in. ‘How can you see where you are going through these dark tunnels?’ he asks Lucy. ‘Well it’s strange really but since being a ghost my senses seem to be greatly heightened and I can see perfectly in the dark.’ ‘Well I am not a ghost and I can’t see a thing,’ says Edward, peering into the darkness. ‘I need a torch, where can I get one?’ ‘Harry keeps one in his workshop,’ says Bruce. ‘Right, I shall go and fetch it,’ says Edward, and with that he rushes out of the cupboard and across the room to the bedroom door and disappears.

  A few minutes later, Edward returns with the torch. He puts on his jacket and starts towards the dark passage, but Lucy holds up her hand to halt him. ‘We must be very quiet; the gang may be somewhere in the caves.’ ‘Do you want me to hold your hand?’ Sam asks Bruce jokingly. ‘Very funny,’ Bruce snaps. ‘Come on, follow me if you dare.’ With that Bruce disappears through the opening and into the darkness. Several seconds later, Bruce’s head reappears back through the opening and in a quiet voice says, ‘You’re right, it is dark in here.’ The others all laugh.

  Edward, armed with the torch, leads the party into the tunnel, followed by Lucy, Sam and finally Bruce. As they descend down the passage, Bruce peers nervously back the way they have come. The light from the bedroom is now very small and the darkness is now crowding in on him. He quickly positions himself in front of Sam. ‘Not afraid of the dark are you?’ asks Sam. ‘Don’t be ridiculous; it’s just that you are going too slowly, that’s all.’

  The tunnel is very narrow and they are forced to walk in single file The roof is low and Edward has to walk bent over to avoid cracking his head on the low, rough ceiling. Lucy just walks normally with her head invisible, hidden in the cave ceiling. The tunnel gradually widens and becomes higher as they make their way down. They pass other tunnel entrances on their left and right. Sam tells Bruce that all sorts of nasty things live down them. Bruce peers down one of them and feels a cold breeze on his face and he shudders involuntarily. He catches Sam smiling at him and quickly moves on. The tunnel leads gently downwards, sometimes bending to the left, sometimes to the right. It is cold and damp and there is a constant cold draft blowing into their faces. Edward shivers. ‘I wish you had told me it was so chilly down here; I would have put my coat and scarf on.’ ‘Sorry,’ says Lucy. ‘I didn’t think of it, we ghosts don’t feel the cold.’

  In front of them, they see a glow. As they turn the next bend, the tunnel is lit by flaming torches on the tunnel walls which throw eerie flickering shadows on the walls and floor. Edward turns off his torch and puts it into his jacket pocket. Here the passage is wide enough for them to all stand abreast. They peer nervously ahead into the gloom. The tunnel bends down and away to the left. Lucy leads the way forward and they all drop into line, following her. Suddenly she stops dead in her tracks, making them all bump into each other. ‘Mind what you’re doing,’ Bruce snaps at Sam crossly. ‘Shoosh!’ says Lucy. ‘Listen, voices – someone is coming, quickly we must hide.’ Edward looks around the passage and sees an opening almost opposite them. ‘Quick, into that opening.’ Lucy is the first to react; she rushes into the dark opening, quickly followed by the others. In fact, it is not a tunnel at all – more an alcove which comes to a dead end just a few yards in. They stop against the far wall, just out of the light thrown by the nearest tor
ch in the main passageway. ‘Wait here,’ says Lucy, as she creeps back to the lit passage. She peers cautiously along the tunnel just in time to see a group of men appear around the bend and head towards her. ‘It’s some of the gang,’ she whispers. ‘But they will see us in here, we must move.’ Edward says in alarm. ‘There is no time, quickly push yourselves into the shadows.’ They hold their breaths as the voices get closer. They hear one of the men say, ‘We had better get a move on; the boss will slice our ears off if we are late.’ ‘There’s no need to hurry,’ another says. ‘He will be too busy admiring his painting of the flowers to notice us arriving late.’ They all laugh loudly. ‘His face when he saw that picture, I nearly wet myself.’ ‘I nearly did more than that when he threw that knife at me,’ says another voice. They all laugh again. The hidden group, hardly daring to breathe, watch as four men all armed with daggers and swords pass by the opening to where they are hiding. Fortunately the men are laughing so much that they do not notice the group hidden in the gloom as they pass by the small alcove.

  As the men’s voices fade away along the tunnel, Bruce moves forward out of the shadows Lucy tries to stop him but she is too late. Suddenly Bruce stops dead as the strangest creature he has ever seen appears at the entrance to the alcove. The creature is in fact Su Lu, a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig and the pet of Horace, one of the gang. The pig suddenly stops; she has sensed that there is something or someone in the shadows of the alcove. She spins her fat ugly head and sees Bruce in the gloom. She stares at him for several seconds. Lucy and Edward fear that the pig will start squealing and give them away. Su Lu slowly moves closer to Bruce, then goes quite rigid and a strange look comes over her face, a kind of silly grin. Sam whispers to Lucy. ‘I think the pig has taken a shine to the terror of the highlands.’ Just then, a voice echoes along the tunnel – it’s Horace, calling his pet. ‘Come on Su Lu, catch up or you’ll get yourself lost.’ Su Lu turns her head in the direction from where the shout came and then back towards Bruce. She stares longingly at Bruce once more and, after a long sigh some obvious effort drags herself away and scuttles off after the gang, leaving Bruce shaken and staring at the retreating pig. ‘Phew! That was a near miss,’ says Lucy. ‘I thought she was going to squeal on us.’ ‘Squeal,’ repeats Edward, laughing. ‘I think you’ve pulled,’ Sam says to Bruce, with a cheeky grin. Bruce snaps out of the shock of the close encounter. ‘Don’t talk daft,’ he says, looking slightly embarrassed. ‘Well you have to admit Bruce, she did have a very strange look on her face when she laid eyes on you,’ says Edward. ‘You’re talking nonsense,’ says Bruce. ‘Stop bickering you lot,’ interrupts Lucy, ‘did you hear what they said? Seamus has called a meeting of the gang. I think we should follow them – we may find out why they have returned and what skulduggery they are planning this time.’ ‘Good idea,’ agrees Edward. ‘Quickly, we must follow them before we lose them.’

  They head off in the direction the men went. Soon they have caught up with them and follow them at a discreet distance. The men turn off the main passage into a narrower one and they cautiously follow.

  Ahead, they can hear the murmur of many voices. ‘I think we are approaching the meeting place; we must be very careful now,’ whispers Lucy. As they round the next bend in the tunnel, they see a bright light ahead. Lucy stops and points towards the light. ‘That must be where they are meeting – it’s the room I told you about where they stored the cargo from the ship. Quickly, follow me.’ Lucy leads them into an opening, into another tunnel. This one is very narrow and winds its way upwards. Once again, they can hear the voices and see light glimmering ahead. Lucy signals for them to keep low and they crawl towards the light. Edward realises that they are on a small ledge high up near the roof of the cave; they creep to the edge of the ledge and carefully peer down into the room below.

  CHAPTER 21

  Below them, the gang are gathered together for the meeting. They are all talking, shouting and arguing and making a terrible din. Suddenly Seamus appears through an entrance in the far wall. He shouts several times for order without much success; he suddenly pulls a pistol out of his belt and fires it in the air. The noise from the gun is unbelievably loud in the confined space, the echo fading away to be replaced by absolute silence.

  ‘Now that I have your full attention,’ says Seamus, replacing the pistol into his belt, ‘I have some important news, something we have all been waiting for.’ A murmur of anticipation rises from the men. ‘I have discovered that a ship, her hold laden with booty is, even as we speak, plying its way through treacherous seas towards us.’ The murmurs grow louder. ‘Now, as you know, you being sea faring gents of the highest calibre,’ all the men cheer this compliment – ‘anything can happen to a ship in a storm as filthy as the one now battering our dear little harbour.’ Here Seamus cups his ear and angles his head as if listening to the howling gale that is raging outside. He continues. ‘The ship will be passing by some time tomorrow night.’ A sinister grin spreads across his face. ‘And I think it would be very discourteous of us if we did not extend to her and her crew our very own special brand of hospitality.’ Another huge cheer erupts from the men. Seamus raises his voice above the shouting. ‘So I suggest we should prepare for our special welcome to this ship and the poor souls aboard her.’ Another loud cheer hails from the men in front of him. Seamus raises his arms and complete silence falls. An evil grin spreads across his face as he shouts, ‘We are about to go into the wrecking business again.’ An ominous murmur spreads through the hall. ‘Now I want you to listen very carefully. Aboard this ship is a stone, a very precious stone.’ The Wreckers listen in silence. Seamus continues. ‘In fact, one of the most precious stones in the world – unique, so my informant tells me.’ The Wreckers gasp. Seamus’ smile is replaced by an evil scowl that freezes his audience into utter silence and fear. ‘This stone is mine and mine only.’ The Wreckers murmur in disappointment. ‘But because of this,’ Seamus shouts this so loudly that the men back away from him in fear. He continues, ‘And because of my enormous generosity,’ a sly grin spreads across his face. ‘Legendary generosity,’ shouts Horace, from the floor. The groan from the rest of the men indicates that this opinion may not be fully shared by the whole gathering. ‘As I was saying, I have decided to forfeit my automatic right as your captain.’ ‘Beloved captain,’ Horace shouts. More groans from the crew. ‘Horace,’ Seamus says menacingly, ‘one more peep out of you and this legendary, generous and beloved captain will slice you up and make a string of sausages out of you.’ Horace gulps. Seamus continues his speech. ‘I have decided to forfeit my 50% share of the other merchandise taken,’ and here he pauses for several seconds to increase the drama. ‘And I have generously decided to donate my share to you, my faithful crew.’ It took them several seconds to take this on board and then together they cheer so loudly they almost raise the roof.

  As the cheers die down, Horace gives a cough to attract the attention of Seamus. Seamus turns his attention towards Horace. ‘And what troubles you, my little chubby friend?’ Horace nervously clears his throat. ‘I was just wondering,’ Horace replies in a timid voice. ‘If it is OK with you, my beloved captain, can I be excused from going out in the boats to recover the booty from the ship?’ ‘And why would that be?’ Seamus asks, a half smile on his face. ‘Well it’s because, well to tell you the truth,’ Horace gives a nervous little giggle. ‘Spit it out man, why don’t you want to go out with the rest of us in the boats?’ Horace is silent, trying to pluck up courage. The smile slowly leaves Seamus’ face and is replaced by an angry scowl and just when he looks like he is about to explode in anger, Horace blurts out. ‘Because I am scared of water, especially the sea – well there’s so much of it isn’t there?’ Here he gives a little giggle. There is a long silence, then, one by one the other gang members begin to laugh. Soon they are all laughing hysterically, even Seamus. Eventually Seamus gets his mirth under control and holds up his hands to quieten the others. ‘Scared of the sea?’ he says, struggling
not to laugh. ‘Whoever heard of a sailor being scared of the sea? Do you not think perhaps you chose the wrong profession?’ ‘I haven’t always been afraid of water,’ Horace protests. ‘I was fine until that incident in the village when we all got drowned in the harbour during the landslide.’ Seamus says, ‘You are a silly little chap, don’t you understand, you are dead. We are all dead, we are ghosts, you drowned 300 years ago man – you can’t drown again.’ With that, the gang all burst into uncontrolled laughter again.

  Once again, Seamus holds up his hands. ‘Grab a bottle, shipmates and let us drink a toast to the safe passage of the ship that is even now battling through raging seas towards us.’ They all cheer and noisily gulp down their rum. Seamus continues. ‘And here’s to the rich booty she carries in her hold.’ The crew cheers wildly again and gulps down more rum. ‘So tonight, lads, let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we have work to do and a rendezvous with a special ship, so raise your bottles my beauties, to the Island Queen.’ The gang raise their bottles of rum in the air and all together loudly shout, ‘the Island Queen,’ but suddenly there is a cry from high up in the cavern.

  ‘No!’ screams Edward. He jumps to his feet and shouts again. ‘No!’ The whole room is plunged into silence. Seamus’ head snaps upwards and sees Edward. Lucy stares at Edward. ‘Oh oh,’ says Sam ‘I think we’ve been rumbled.’ Seamus points up to them and shouts, ‘Spies, quickly, get them!’ The men in front of Seamus are suddenly galvanised into action; the cups and bottles that were in their hands are replaced by swords, daggers and clubs. Lucy quickly reacts and shouts to her colleagues. ‘Quickly, run!’ Edward is still frozen to the spot and staring at Seamus. Lucy grabs his arm and drags him off the ledge and back down the tunnel.