by Israel Keats
“I told you I was a pirate,” she said to Archie. “Now, there’s a treasure in this building. I want you to take me to it.”
“Ha!” he said. “If I knew where there was treasure I’d have taken it myself.”
“Well, where could it be hidden, then?”
Archie shrugged. “We’re all over this building every day. We see every room and know every corner.”
“Except . . .” a girl interrupted and then clamped her mouth shut.
Archie turned. “Except what?”
“There’s one place nobody ever goes,” she said. “The clock tower.” She turned to Gadget. “The clock hasn’t worked for years, and nobody’s even tried to fix it. Who knows what’s up there?”
Chapter 10
“How do you get to the clock tower?” Gadget asked.
“You can’t,” Archie said. “That’s why nobody’s tried to fix it.”
“Can you get me as close as you can?”
“Sure. Follow me.” Archie ran toward the stairs and started leaping up the steps two at a time. Gadget chased after him. A dozen other children followed her, swept up in the adventure.
If it’s been broken for so long, why hurry now? Gadget thought as she tried to keep up. She took a wrong turn a couple of times, but the children behind her pushed her in the right direction.
At last Archie led them through a set of doors to a balcony.
There’s nowhere to go from here, she thought. We must almost be there!
But she was wrong. To her shock, Archie climbed out on a ledge and started to creep alongside the building.
No way, Gadget thought. Still, she stepped out to the same treacherous ledge. With her back pressed to the wall, she took slow side steps. A row of children came along after her, egging her on.
Archie came to a crawl space and entered. Gadget crept in after him. There were still smaller children right on her heels. They crawled for about twenty feet. At last they reached a round chamber directly below the clock tower.
“The clock’s up there, but there’s no ladder,” Archie said, pointing. Gadget looked up past the gears of the clock and saw a white circle glowing in the shadows. It was the sun shining through the clock face. Four ropes hung down, one dangling all the way to the floor.
This is like Grandma’s cuckoo clock, she realized, thinking of the time she took it apart to figure out how it worked. Weights power the clock by pulling on the ropes, but this one is missing its weights—that’s why it’s broken. What can we use for weights?
She noticed that the room was packed with children—at least a dozen of them. She realized what she had to do.
“You,” she said to a boy who seemed to be the smallest of the kids. “Climb up the long rope, then jump over to the rope on the far end.”
The boy hesitated.
“You’re not a coward, are you?” Archie asked.
“ ’Course not!” That was all it took to get the boy shimmying up the rope. Gadget sent one kid up after another. She knew from the cuckoo clock that the weights had to be equal. So she sorted the kids into groups, with the same number of tall, small, and medium-sized kids on each rope. Archie nodded at them, encouraging them to do as she said. She had to make a couple of them swap places, but when they were divided up perfectly there was a click. The gears had reset.
Now I’ll be the pendulum. She grasped the longest rope, shimmied up a few feet, and kicked off a beam to start swinging. Dust rained from the gears above as they grinded to life. Some of the children yelped, but they all held on to their ropes. Gadget kept swinging. A group of bats shot down, their leathery wings flapping in her face.
“Hold on!” she yelled to the others and kept swinging. She heard the clockworks rumbling above, and the clock started to tick.
The clock has been stuck at two minutes to twelve, she thought. What happens when it reaches twelve?
Gadget swung and swung, counting one hundred and twenty swings. Then there was another click as something shifted deep in the mechanism.
A bell started to ring with a deafening clang. Once, twice, three times. She tried to peer up into the clockworks as she swung. High above the gears she saw a door slide open; inside was a cubbyhole with a safe.
She slowed her swings. The bell rang six more times before she was able to stop completely. Now the clock was frozen at exactly twelve. She continued up the rope, climbed hand over hand across a beam, swung over, and entered the cubbyhole.
This safe was unlocked. She opened it and found . . .
Nothing.
Her jaw dropped in shock. No. It can’t be gone. If somebody beat me to it, the clock would have already changed.
There wasn’t much light. Only the dim glow of the sun through the painted glass of the clock face. She ran her hands along the sides and bottom of the safe. At last her fingertips found the edges of a long strip of thick paper lying flat on the bottom. She carefully picked it up and discovered it was full of punch holes.
Computers used to use punch cards to tell them what to do. This must be the program for whatever that machine is. She started to put the paper in her bag and changed her mind, worried it might get crumpled or torn in there. Instead she wrapped the card around her arm, halfway between her wrist and elbow, and pulled her sleeve down over it.
Chapter 11
Leveling up is fine, Gadget thought. But what I really want is to have a treasure not get stolen five seconds later.
The room suddenly darkened. She looked up and saw a large shadow in front of the clock face. The shadow shifted, and she could see the shape of an airship. Somebody heard the bells and came to investigate. But is that the Zephyr or an Aero-Navy ship?
There was a boom of cannons and the clock face shattered, raining shards of white glass down on the city of Verne. Through the jagged hole, Gadget could see the airship better. Now she saw it was definitely an Aero-Navy ship, with the name BOREAS painted on the side of the ship’s wooden frame. Crew members were re-loading the cannon.
“Let’s get out of here!” she hissed to the kids below, hoping the soldiers wouldn’t be able to hear her. It was possible their attackers didn’t know for sure that anyone was inside the tower.
She slid down the rope, feeling it burn her hands, and landed with a thunk on the floor. Archie was ushering the children into the crawl space. Overhead another cannonball ripped through the clockworks. Chunks of wood and metal fell from the rafters.
All of the kids were gone except Archie. He waved her on. She shook her head and nudged him toward the hole. He nodded and disappeared into the crawl space. Gadget dropped down to follow, but just before she entered, a net dropped down and covered her body. As she struggled to shake it off, the corners were drawn together, forming a sack with her inside.
The net lifted, pulling her back up into the tower. She got her sword free but too late—if she cut through the ropes now, the fall would be too dangerous.
The net was hoisted up onto a sky-skiff. The skiff turned and flew back to the Boreas, where soldiers hauled her on board.
“We’ve caught a pirate, sir,” one of the soldiers said.
Gadget looked up to see the red-faced commander glaring down at her. Then a crooked smile crept up his face. “I’ve seen this pirate before.”
Chapter 12
The soldiers freed her from the net, ripped the bag and sword away from her, and tied her hands. Two guards with drawn swords stood on either side of her.
The commander got into Gadget’s face. “First I see you at the Benbow Inn—a known pirate hideout—and now I find you here. There are pirates all over the city, looting and making trouble. What are you up to?”
“She’s got this map,” a third soldier said, who had been ransacking Gadget’s bag. She handed the commander the map.
“This was stolen by Captain Weston Fawkes Junior,” he said. He clenched his teeth. “I should have known you were with that pip-squeak pirate.”
Gadget didn’t say anything. She couldn’t if
she wanted to. This was a cut scene, playing out like a short movie, and all she could do was watch.
“Now I’d like to make you pay for what you did at the inn,” the commander said, “but you might prove useful to me. Junior wants to follow in his father’s footsteps, so we’ll let him.” A corner of his mouth turned up in a creepy smile. “I know Fawkes is gathering the pieces of a machine that his father hid around the city. But I don’t know what the machine does. If you go back to the Zephyr, you can find out.”
Gadget finally found herself able to talk. “No way,” she said.
“You’re loyal to the pip-squeak,” the commander said with a disapproving frown. “He can’t be trusted, you know. Not even by his own crewmates.”
“I’m not exactly loyal to him, but I don’t see any reason to help you!”
“Because you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in a workhouse!” the commander barked. He reached into his pocket. Gadget cringed, expecting him to come out with a weapon, but instead he showed her a small metal bird, like the cuckoo from a steampunk clock.
“Take this messenger.” He tried to hand it to her, but her hands were tied, so he handed it to the female soldier, and she slid it into Gadget’s pocket.
“It’s there whenever you need it,” the woman said, in a nicer tone than the commander. “Just give it a message and let it fly. It will find its way home.”
Terry must have had one of those, she realized. That’s how he sent word to Mike’s crew about where we were. That traitor.
“I won’t do it,” she said. I don’t like Fawkes, but I’m not a traitor like Terry.
“Maybe you need time in the brig to think about it,” the commander said.
The soldiers dragged her to the airship’s prison, untied her hands, and shut her in a small cell with an iron door and sturdy wooden walls. The only furniture was a hammock, and that was already filled with a hulking body facing the wall. Gadget sat in the corner.
Either I turn into a traitor, or I end up in prison, she thought, resting her chin on her knees. I don’t know what to do.
The person on the hammock rolled over and spoke in a gravelly voice. “Hey, there. I know you.”
Gadget perked up. It was Maggie, the girl from the Verne Steam Works.
“What are you doing here?” Gadget asked.
“I’ve been accused of stealing a Narwhal.” Maggie sat up and put her feet on the floor.
“But you were just returning it . . .”
“I tried to explain that, but they didn’t believe me,” Maggie said, then she perked up. “But now you can tell them. You’ll do that for me, right?”
“Of course,” she said. But I don’t think they’ll listen.
“What about you?” Maggie asked. “What are you in for?”
“For being a pirate.”
“You’re a pirate?” Maggie gasped. “You lied to me!”
“I never said I wasn’t a pirate,” Gadget said. “I said I was lost, and I was.”
“Fair enough,” Maggie said. “But I shouldn’t have left you alone in the Steam Works. Maybe I do deserve to be in here.” She sighed heavily.
The door to the brig squeaked open and someone crept in. Gadget sat up. Terry? What’s he doing here?
Terry held a finger to his lips and pulled a key from his pocket. Without a word, he opened the cell’s door. “Come on,” he whispered.
Gadget frowned. “What’s going on?”
“I’m rescuing you. What do you think?”
“Why?”
“Because I owe you one. Come on, let’s hurry.”
“I don’t trust you,” she hissed.
“I don’t blame you,” he said. “But we don’t have time to argue about it.”
Well, I do need to get out of here, she thought. Once we’re out, I can get as far away from him as I can.
“Come on,” he pleaded.
“I’ll come.” She looked back at Maggie and stood up, “But we need to rescue her too!”
“If I make a run for it, I’ll be in ten times as much trouble,” Maggie said. “And they’ll never believe I was innocent in the first place.”
“But I have to leave,” Gadget said. “This is my only chance.”
“So you’re not going to vouch for me,” Maggie said sadly.
Gadget bit her lip. “I’ll . . . come back.”
“Sure you will.”
“I will. I promise.” I’ll try, anyway.
“Good luck, then,” Maggie said.
“See you soon,” Gadget said before she shut the door behind her.
She followed Terry out of the brig and into the airship’s cargo hold. They made their way around barrels and crates to the rear end of the airship, where they entered an empty room with cots and gray blankets.
“This is the sick room,” he explained. “Nobody’s using it right now.” He pushed open a window and started to climb out. “Follow me.”
Gadget went to the window and saw that a sky-skiff was there, hovering so close behind the Aero-Navy ship it was hidden from the soldiers on board. Terry leaped to the deck and waved her on, but she paused.
The two other pirates on the skiff helped Terry climb aboard. He turned back and waved at her again to follow.
I still don’t trust him, Gadget thought. What if the ship takes off after I make the jump? But then why would he go through this much trouble when I was already out of his way?
There were footsteps in the hall, right outside the door. No more time to think about it. She climbed up on the sill and jumped. The wind carried her over, so high she nearly flew right over the others’ heads, but Terry grabbed her foot and pulled her safely to the skiff.
He did want to rescue me, she thought. Maybe he really did feel bad for leaving me stranded on that island.
She looked at the other pirates on the skiff. She recognized them from the standoff at the harbor, but their leader wasn’t among them.
“What happened to Mike?” she asked.
“There was a small mutiny after he let our treasure get plundered,” Terry explained.
Feeling better knowing that guy wasn’t around, Gadget took a seat. Does that mean Terry is in charge now? Did he arrange the mutiny? Maybe he’s better at this game than I thought.
As the skiff sailed back to the Zephyr, she thought about betrayal.
I let Maggie down, she thought. No, she made her own decision. And for all I know, it was the right decision. Maybe she’s safer with the Aero-Navy than a bunch of pirates.
Gadget looked over her shoulder at the Boreas behind them. But I still feel guilty.
They landed on the Zephyr a moment later.
“We’re not even that far from the Boreas,” she said.
“That’s because we’re in battle,” Terry explained.
Most of the crew had returned and were scurrying around the deck. Captain Fawkes was standing on a barrel, barking orders and looking more menacing than before. To her surprise they were heading for the clock tower with the shattered clock. The Boreas was still circling it, cannons out.
“Brace yourselves!” said a woman. “The two of you, grab a dart cannon. One of you can feed. The other can fire!”
Gadget gulped and let Terry pull her over to a cannon. It had a longer, narrower barrel than the cannons she’d seen on ships in movies.
“Which do you want to do?” he asked. “Feed or fire?”
“Um . . .” She didn’t know how to do either. “I guess I’ll feed.” She looked around and saw a large metal crate with feathers sticking out. Those were the darts, stored with the points down. She pulled one out—it was the size of a loaf of bread and much heavier. Gadget lugged it to the cannon and slid it in. Terry was winding a crank, grunting with the effort. When he couldn’t turn it anymore he stood back.
“Out of the way!” he shouted. She moved a split second before the dart exploded out of the cannon. It soared over to the Boreas, glancing off the side of the ship itself.
�
�I missed!” Terry said. “Let’s try again.”
But he hit the ship . . . Gadget thought. She saw Terry reposition the cannon to shoot at a higher angle. Aha, he’s shooting for the big gasbag!
“We need another dart!” he said impatiently. “You should get ready with the next shot as I’m firing.”
“Sorry.” She stepped back over to the bin of darts.
I wonder what happens when he hits the gasbag—will it explode? Just deflate and drop? And what will happen to Maggie?
There was a crash behind her. Splinters of wood went flying as one of the darts from the Boreas landed behind her. Guess I don’t have time to worry about it, she thought, jumping into action. Like it or not, I’m in a battle.
She grabbed another dart, fed the cannon, and stood aside while Terry wound up the spring. This time the dart struck the side of the Boreas’s massive gasbag, but the point didn’t quite poke through its thick skin. The third dart from their cannon tore into the fabric, but the gasbag didn’t even deflate. Apparently it wasn’t that easy to bring down a massive airship.
Darts soared from the Boreas, and the Zephyr’s own gasbag took a hit. Captain Fawkes ordered a retreat and the damaged airship sailed away. It wobbled like a leaky balloon through the clouds toward the mountains. The Boreas, for now at least, did not give chase.
“What was that about?” Gadget asked.
“The last treasure is in that clock tower,” said another pirate. “We have to find it. But the soldiers on the Boreas had the same idea.”
Gadget touched her forearm. Sure enough, the punch card was still there. We’ve been battling for a treasure I had up my sleeve the whole time.
“I—” she almost blurted out that she had it, but she stopped herself. I’d better give this straight to Fawkes so I get credit.
Fawkes was holding himself steady at the mast while the Zephyr tilted and swayed.
“Captain!” She unraveled the card from her arm and pulled it from her sleeve, then waved it in front of his face. “Is this the treasure we’re fighting for?”
“What? How?” He snatched it from her and looked it over with wide eyes, so carefully she wondered if he could read the punch holes.