At the sight of the ignited fuses of dynamite, the Beans were exceedingly tempted to sprint in the opposite direction, running as far and as fast as they could. There was, after all, nothing quite like a ticking time bomb to get you moving.
It would have been most prudent for them to create as wide of a distance between themselves and the lit sticks of dynamite as possible. Not to mention the collapsing cavern, the giant crab, and the angry dragon, all of which were excellent reasons to depart at the highest possible speed.
However, they did not run away. Though the keeper had been nothing but rude to them, and had caused them an enormous amount of trouble, they could not simply leave him as he was.
Neil and Jack had strong consciences, and they couldn’t leave a helpless man to have his head blown off, even if that particular man had intentionally caused them so much grief. At great risk to their own safety, they stayed to help.
“Gah! I’m no scientist, but I believe if that dynamite blows, his melon will explode like a ripe cantaloupe!” Neil speculated.
“Quick, grab the dynamite and toss it!” Jack exclaimed.
Though reluctant to part with Noodles’ noggin, Neil quickly set it down on the sand so he could free his hands. Then, he and Jack lurched forward, reaching for the keeper’s beard. Each of them grabbed a stick of dynamite and tugged.
But try as they might, the red cylinders of packed explosive wouldn’t come free. The keeper’s beard was so long, so matted and furled and wild, it had thoroughly ensnared the dynamite that had been nestled within for so long.
“We don’t have time for this. Help me drag him to the water!” Jack shouted.
The boys each grabbed an arm of the keeper and hauled. They didn’t bother trying to pull him to his feet, but simply dragged him along the sand. The water was only a few feet away, but it seemed as if it was a distance of miles, due to the stress of the moment. As they hauled the stupefied pirate along, they could hear the fuses burning away, drawing ever closer to the dynamite.
“Man, this guy really needs that bar of soap I was mentioning earlier,” Neil muttered, as he took in the keeper’s powerful aroma, which emanated from his tattered robe.
“We’ve got to move faster!” Jack shouted.
The sound of the burning fuses sizzled in the ears of Neil and Jack, and they hauled the keeper for all they were worth. He murmured incoherent gibberish as he was dragged along, oblivious to the explosive state of his bedraggled beard.
Nibbler cleared a path for the boys, shooing away the gathered crabs, pushing them with his snout and loosing barks at them. Murphy sprinted through the crabs, further helping clear the area by dispersing the crustaceans while he wildly waved his arms and uttered squirrelly sounds.
The boys reached the edge of the shore, and they wasted no time. A bit of shallow water was all they needed, and they put it to good use. Together, they dunked the keeper’s head into the cold water, face first.
Neil and Jack heard the fuses hiss as their sparks were snuffed, and they sighed with relief. Nibbler slumped to the ground, and Murphy promptly joined him, both of them panting.
Unwilling to take any chances, they continued holding the keeper’s head underwater for several seconds, to ensure the fuses were completely extinguished. After a moment of this, the pirate began to shake about, and a horde of bubbles rose from the water.
“It’s for your own good, mister!” Neil chuckled.
After another few seconds of dunking, Jack said, “Okay, let’s let him up.”
They lifted the keeper’s head, and the soaked pirate sputtered and gasped, gratefully taking in breaths of air. The fuses in his beard were now quite short, barely protruding from the sticks of dynamite, so it seemed they had been doused in the nick of time.
Invigorated by the dunking, the keeper snarled at the Beans, demanding an explanation. “What do you miserable wretches think you’re doing? Show some proper respect, why don’t you?”
“Hey, we just bailed you out, dude! Your dynamite ignited, and your coconut was about to detonate!” Neil explained.
“And in all fairness, you were long past due for a washing of that beard,” Jack pointed out.
“How about a ‘thank you’?” Neil asked.
“Woof!” Nibbler added, barking into the startled keeper’s face.
The keeper rose to his knees in the sand and water, feeling at his face with both hands, his chains jangling at his wrists. As his fingers ran over the dynamite fuses, he murmured in astonishment.
“I don’t know what happened... I was aboard my ship, and then... everything just sort of went… fuzzy.”
“Yeah, that happens to people when they get too close to Pan Gu,” Jack explained.
“What are you carrying on about, boy?” the keeper asked with squinted, suspicious eyes.
“Pan Gu, you doorknob! The giant lizard-thing! Don’t you remember?” Neil asked.
“Ah, yes... now I recall… the emerald serpent…” the keeper murmured, slowly shaking his head as he tried to gather his wits and remember.
“Listen, mister, whether you like it or not, you owe us your life. It seems like a ‘thank you’ is out of the question, but the least you can do is answer a few questions,” Jack reasoned.
The pirate lifted his eyes and gazed at the Beans, grumbling beneath his breath.
“What do you say, buddy?” Neil asked. “How about you give us some answers?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Bloodline of Black Beard
The Green Beans, Volume 4: Shipwrecked on Smuttynose Island Page 26