Nibbler was tearing down the trail, barking for the boys to keep up. Murphy held on for dear life, riding the Labradoodle as if he were a bucking bronco, issuing squirrelly squeaks of encouragement for his canine friend to maintain speed and the utmost haste.
After discovering the well traveled trail, the boys had jogged down it as quickly as they had dared, hurrying to catch up to their quarry. They had been doing so for only a handful of minutes when Nibbler indicated that the keeper was near, and the dog had accelerated his chase, following the clues that his reliable nose had detected.
Now, Neil and Jack raced behind their animal companions as quickly as they could, taking care not to trip over the rocks and roots that littered the path. After several frantic moments of sprinting, they saw Nibbler abruptly come to a halt, using his paws like brakes, digging them into the earth to bring his body to a stop.
Murphy let loose with a short, alarmed squeak, as he was almost thrown from his place atop the dog’s back. He held fast with both hands, and he managed to retain his place. Nibbler had ceased barking, but his entire body was rigid, and he peered straight ahead with rapt attention.
The boys caught up, their chests heaving with breath, and they immediately saw what had brought Nibbler to such a sudden stop. Just a few feet in front of the dog, the trail abruptly ended in a steep cliff. Neil and Jack came to a screeching halt, waving their arms for balance.
“Whew,” Neil muttered, as he comprehended the terrible fall they had come very near to taking.
“It looks like there are a few surprises hidden on this island,” Jack said. “I guess we had better watch our step!”
Peering over the edge of the cliff, they could see that the drop was about thirty feet, and a fast moving river flowed below them. The river was about one hundred feet wide. Spanning across the water, there was an ancient bridge that had been constructed of old wood and rope, stretching from one side of the ravine to the other.
The condition of the bridge did not exactly inspire confidence, for the rope was old and moldy, and many parts of it were frayed and thinning. The wooden boards were in a similar state of decay, looking green and worn with the effects of time.
As their chests heaved and they strove to regain their breath, Neil and Jack carefully edged closer to the edge of the cliff and the old bridge. They stood to either side of Nibbler and followed his gaze, intent to see what he had discovered.
There, not too far in the distance, stood the keeper. He was about halfway across the bridge, and he had turned around to look at them. He stared back at the group of pursuers, and though the hood of his raggedy robe still concealed his features, it was clear from his posture that he had been taken by surprise.
“I don’t believe this! What do you pack of half-deaf, disobedient children think you’re doing?” he demanded.
“We’ve come to reclaim Noodles’ noggin!” Jack declared.
“Woof!” Nibbler added.
“Noodles’ noggin…? What is this gibberish that you’re spouting, boy?” the keeper demanded.
“Our robot’s head,” Neil explained. “He’s a friend of ours, and we aim to reclaim his cranium.”
“I, uh, don’t know anything about all that,” stammered the keeper. But the boys noticed that he shifted his stance as he spoke, positioning the burlap sack behind his back. “I’m afraid I can’t help you. Now, be gone! Go back from whence you came! Leave this island, at once!”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that, sir. Please, be reasonable… we need Noodles’ head!” Neil declared.
“Oh, you think so, do you?” the keeper asked. “You think that you trespassers are in any position to bargain with me, the keeper of Smuttynose Island? Such marvelous insolence you possess!”
“So you admit that you have Noodles’ head?” asked Jack.
The keeper became belligerent. “Yes, if that’s what you happen to call that shiny trinket - I do have it, as a matter of fact!” He no longer attempted to conceal the burlap sack, instead brandishing it in front of him, clutching it with a fist of gnarled knuckles. “Everything on this island belongs to me. You might think this is your property, but you’re mistaken. The moment you set foot on my shores, all your possessions became mine for the taking - it is the way of the sea, and the law of my island!”
Jack sighed, partially with relief that they had located Noodles’ head, and partially from the frustration of dealing with the eccentric keeper. “Think about it, buddy. We’ll never be able to get off your precious island without Noodles’ head. So whether you like it or not, you’ve got to return it to us. We need Noodles to be operational, so we can signal for a rescue boat.”
“Well, that just isn’t going to happen, so I guess you had best start swimming!” the keeper hollered, waving his prized sack about and jangling his chains.
Murphy stood as tall as he could from atop his place on Nibbler’s back, shaking one fist and squeaking at the keeper.
“Yeah, what he said!” Neil added, intuiting the gist of Murphy’s squirrelly language. “Hand over the head, you goon!”
“Goon?” the keeper repeated in disbelief. “How dare you! This is your final warning. And… what is that, a squirrel? Is that a squirrel shaking its fist at me?”
Jack chuckled. “That’s Murphy. You should probably listen to him.”
The keeper muttered in confusion at the sight of the rowdy rodent, before gathering himself and turning surly once more. “Turn back - at once - or peril of the most heinous and undesirable variety will befall you!”
“Nope,” Jack said, as he and his friends began advancing. “Not without our friend’s head.”
The keeper squared his shoulders, and he was visibly shuddering with outrage. “Very well. Let it be known that you were given ample warning, and you chose to spurn my generosity. You have willingly thrust yourselves into the toothy maw of doom, despite my guidance!”
“Yeah, yeah, duly noted,” Neil assured him. “The toothy maw of doom, got it.”
“You’ll soon regret your careless decisions!” the keeper promised.
And with that, he turned his back upon them and continued crossing the ancient rope bridge. He hobbled and wobbled, impeded by both the swaying nature of the bridge and the limitations of his peg leg. However, his progress was surprisingly quick, undoubtedly because he had used the bridge so many times in the past, and it had become second nature to him.
“Come on, you wretches,” the keeper taunted. As he continued shimmying across the deteriorating bridge, he glanced back over his shoulder. As he did so, the boys were able to catch the faintest impression of a hard face beneath, and a burly beard that protruded from the shadows of the hood. “You want to reclaim this shiny trinket you’ve lost? Go ahead and catch me, then - catch me, if you can!”
Chapter Fifteen
A Pursuit Most Wobbly
The Green Beans, Volume 4: Shipwrecked on Smuttynose Island Page 14