by Robert Lamb
Moses smiled, as they waved from a long distance off. ‘She’s a wise mermaid. These sailors are safe now and they would try to capture them.’ He lit his pipe which, as always, steamed and fizzed till white smoke circled round his head.
Noah lit his wet cigar and, after a similar fizz, they were both puffing happily.
The old man with his book in his hand was still writing, holding up the bottle with the sea horse bobbing up and down inside. ‘That reminds me,’ said Moses, uncorking the bottle. ‘Cindy, you can let the sea horse stop being a prisoner in here.’
Cindy blushed, for she had forgotten all about the sea horse. She took a long look at him before pouring him gently into the bubbling lake.
Captain Tiny on the other boat was not happy at all for he had just remembered something.
‘The jewels, Oh no! the gold, that plug.’ But there he stopped, for the pecking penguins had each of his long moustaches and twisted them as he looked to either side.
The old man squinting in the light checked them all off on his list, content to write as his home disappeared lower and lower beneath the sea. Some day, thought Cindy, perhaps divers will find his home. They would find it hard to believe someone spent his entire life living down there and wasn’t excited the first time he saw the sun. But it is true.
At this same moment Craig was wondering how they had come through these incredible days alive. Of course he hadn’t really changed, but he did feel different. Perhaps there were bubbles inside him. He found his ears popping and he yawned several times till he could hear the splashing and calling of many crews. Cindy seemed older he had to admit. She seemed more grown up as he watched her brush her hair out of her face. She climbed out to the end of the long boom of the schooner and sat with her feet in the water till the boat began to float.
Perhaps she looked older because she had been underground so long, or maybe it was sea salt over her face and jeans. She couldn’t be older in just these few days. Not really.
Both Cindy and Craig began to wonder whether anyone would believe their tale of the plug, or the hole, or the kingdom in the centre of the earth. But their thoughts were broken by the screech of Windmill the gull, circling high overhead as he wheeled around and flew down the far echoing valley of the newborn sea.
For copyright reasons, any images not belonging to the original author have been
removed from this book. The text has not been changed, and may still contain
references to missing images.
This electronic edition published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Reader
Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square,
London WC1B 3DP
First published in Great Britain 1967 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd
Copyright © 1967 Robert Boyden Lamb
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise
make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means
(including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying,
printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The moral right of the author is asserted.
eISBN: 9781448209781
Visit www.bloomsburyreader.com to find out more about our authors and their books
You will find extracts, author interviews, author events and you can sign up for
newsletters to be the first to hear about our latest releases and special offers.