by Petra James
‘Thanks, TJ,’ said Arkie, looking doubtfully at the faces before her. They seemed even harder than they had before.
‘Enough talk,’ said Blackbeard, ‘Davy Jones’s Locker awaits ye so prepare to —’
‘WAIT.’ A single word cut across Blackbeard’s voice.
Everyone turned to see who had dared to interrupt the captain.
A pirate stepped forwards.
‘That was a brave speech, girl,’ said Anne Bonney, standing next to Arkie. ‘You remind me of my little sister. She was a slip of a thing – not much taller than you – but brave beyond her years. “The lion must be missing his heart”, I always said to her, “because it has found its way to you.”’
Anne Bonney turned to Blackbeard. ‘Blackbeard, ye old sea dog,’ she shouted. ‘It’s my right under the Pirates’ Code to claim the life of someone bound for Davy Jones’s Locker. I’ll take this girl as an apprentice. We need more women on the seven seas.’
Some of the crew muttered at her words and the Quartermaster’s face grew angry.
Blackbeard laughed as he fed Mawby a rat’s tail. ‘There can’t be too many more women like you on the high seas, Bonney,’ he said. ‘For all our sakes. But my head is hurting from this chatter. Take her then. But keep her away from me. I’ll squash her under my shoe as easily as a rat skulking across my deck. Mark thee me words.’ He crouched low and stared into Arkie’s eyes. His black pupils seemed to drill into her.
‘Excuse me,’ said TJ, tapping Anne Bonney on the shoulder. ‘Do I remind you of anyone?’
Anne Bonney started and stared at TJ. ‘Yes, you do,’ she said. ‘You remind me of my second cousin twice removed. A measly girl with devious ways. I was glad to see the back of her. As I will be to see the back of you.’ She spoke to the Quartermaster. ‘I’ve no use for this one. Throw her overboard. She’ll be welcome shark bait.’
‘NO,’ screamed Arkie, as two pirates grabbed TJ and started to drag her to the side of the deck.
‘YES, NO,’ said TJ. ‘Shouldn’t we at least have a long discussion about this? I’m innocent and it’s very bad luck to cast an innocent into the waves. My death would curse your ship.’
The men dropped her arms at the word curse, which spread as fast as a bad smell among the crew.
Pirates were a superstitious lot, despite being black-hearted villains.
‘She’s been tried and found guilty, Capt’n,’ said the Quartermaster. ‘We need to honour the Pirates’ Code. Article 37: no girls or women on board. They’re the bad luck.’
He stared at Anne Bonney, daring her to reply.
Anne Bonney’s hand moved towards her sword.
Mary Read edged closer and stood behind her, as did Calico Jack.
Actions spoke louder than words when you were a pirate.
Blackbeard’s eyes ran over his crew and their rumblings. He could see the mood was filthy. He was in no mind to debate the virtues of female pirates. He spat out the tobacco he was chewing.
‘And I’m the Capt’n,’ said Blackbeard, eyeballing the Quartermaster. ‘Don’t ye dare tell me what should and should not be done on me ship.’
He pulled his black beard until his eyes watered and stared the Quartermaster down.
‘Aye, aye, Capt’n,’ said the Quartermaster, lowering his eyes.
There was an uneasy silence as the men waited for Blackbeard to speak again. He stroked his beard and looked out to sea.
‘Permission to speak, Capt’n,’ said the stout man with ruddy cheeks.
‘What, Bosun?’ said Blackbeard. ‘Spit it out.’
‘We need a swabbie, Capt’n,’ said the Bosun. ‘We lost our last one to the scurvy in the Caribbean and we’re a man down. This one looks strong enough.’
‘Then take her,’ growled Blackbeard. ‘My head aches from all your grumblings, you lazy bunch of addlepates. Get back to work!’
He stormed off the deck and into his cabin, slamming the door behind him.
‘Thank you, Mr Bosun,’ said TJ. ‘I’m very happy to swab as I’ve never swabbed before if it means I don’t get thrown to the sharks. I’m not really used to manual labour because I’m a more cerebral kind of person but I like to think I’m flexible enough to try something different and I hope —’
The Bosun thrust a mop and a bucket at her. ‘Stop ye words and get working. These decks are to gleam, swabbie. Ye hear me?’
‘Aye, aye,’ said TJ, thrusting the mop into the bucket of water.
A Pirate’s Lot
‘I want these weapons polished so I can see the face of my Maker in them,’ said Anne Bonney, throwing her sword and cutlass on the table.
‘Aye, aye,’ said Arkie.
They had left TJ swabbing the decks and gone below to Anne Bonney’s cabin.
‘It’s a hard life we’ve chosen, girl,’ said Anne Bonney. ‘We have to be tougher, smarter, faster than a man.’ She looked at Arkie. ‘There’s a strength in you,’ she said. ‘I can sense it. But don’t give me reason to rue the day I saved ye miserable life.’
‘I won’t,’ said Arkie.
‘Ye got a lot to learn if ye want to stay alive in the pirate business,’ said Anne Bonney. ‘There’s no honour among us. It’s steal or be stolen from. Kill or be killed.’
Arkie nodded.
‘Maybe I am getting soft,’ said Anne Bonney. ‘Soft in the head. But I was always soft when it came to my little sister. And that’s who I saw when I looked at ye.’
‘Where is she now?’ said Arkie.
‘Dead,’ said Anne Bonney. ‘The scarlet fever took her six months ago. I was planning to send for her – I had a little nest egg ready and I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye.’ She sniffed back a tear. ‘But there’s a place I go to visit. A place where my Gem is never forgotten by me.’
Anne Bonney put her head in her hands.
Arkie didn’t know what to say so she said nothing.
‘Enough sentimental twaddle,’ said Anne Bonney, standing up and straightening her jacket. ‘It’s time to earn ye daily bread. And if ye value your life, don’t venture anywhere near Blackbeard’s cabin. The last man found in there, searching for a pretty pearl or two, was marooned on Dead Man’s Chest.’ She leaned in closer to Arkie. ‘It takes a special kind of pirate to steal from Blackbeard, ye see.’ She smiled to herself. ‘A real clever pirate. A pirate with an eye to the future.’ Her eyes gleamed. ‘We’ve got a meeting at midday.’ she said. ‘I’ll be back after that to inspect ye work.’ She left the cabin and went up on to the deck.
Arkie worked hard, polishing all the weapons until she could see her face in them. She could hear occasional shouts from the deck above through the small cabin window as the pirates held their meeting.
She lined the weapons up on the table, then slowly opened the cabin door.
There was no one in the corridor.
The ruby has to be in Blackbeard’s cabin, thought Arkie. It’s the most dangerous place to be so it’s the safest place on the ship to keep the ruby.
She tiptoed along the corridor, her breath sounding loud within her chest.
The second door she came to had a skull and crossbones on it.
Blackbeard’s cabin for sure, thought Arkie.
She pressed her ear to the outside of the door before pushing against it, gently.
As it creaked open, Arkie peered inside.
The cabin was empty.
Arkie slipped inside and stood against the door for a second, taking in the room. There was a bed; a table, covered with maps; and a large chest of drawers.
She looked in the drawers, which were stuffed with shirts and swords.
She checked under the bed.
As well as dust and a rusty cutlass, she could see a large chest.
Arkie dragged it out and began to rummage through it.
The chest was full of maps and official dispatches about Blackbeard’s daring deeds.
His black eyes stared at her from several WANTED: DEAD or DEAD posters.
<
br /> Arkie put the posters away quickly. The menace of Blackbeard already filled every space in the cabin.
She dug deep into the chest and her hand felt something soft at the bottom. She pulled out a velvet bag.
Arkie’s heart was beating fast as she pulled the drawstring and looked inside the bag.
A jewel sparkled before her, shining against the lush fabric.
The Black Prince’s ruby, breathed Arkie.
She held it up to the window and watched it sparkle in the sunlight. It’s so very beautiful, she thought, momentarily bewitched by it.
Then, she wrapped the ruby back in the velvet and was pushing the chest under the bed when she heard footsteps outside.
Arkie’s eyes darted around the cabin. She had no time to escape and nowhere to hide.
She was trapped.
She hid the velvet bag under her shirt and took a deep breath.
She was about to be caught red-handed.
I need a shipshape excuse, she thought. Or it’s Dead Man’s Chest for me.
The door was opening slowly.
Arkie braced herself for Blackbeard’s fury, and possibly a walk along the plank, but standing before her was the boy from the beach – the cabin boy.
They stared at each other in shock.
‘YOU!’ he said.
‘Yes, ME!’ said Arkie defiantly.
‘You’ve found the ruby, haven’t you?’ he said. ‘I can see it in your eyes. Hand it over.’
‘Who are you?’ she said.
‘You haven’t worked that out yet?’ he said. ‘Cate said you were slow. She didn’t say just how slow though.’
The colour drained from Arkie’s face. ‘Cate?’ she said. ‘Cate Sparkle?’
‘The very same,’ said the boy. ‘My sister.’
‘Your sister?’ repeated Arkie.
‘Well, my twin to be exact,’ said the boy. ‘I’m Clem. Clem Sparkle.’
what? what? what? what? what? what?
Shock does funny things to a person.
It numbs your brain so you feel both inside and outside your body.
Arkie heard the boy’s words but they seemed to be hovering above her:
CLEM SPARKLE CLEM SPARKLE CLEM SPARKLE.
But some pieces were slowly starting to fit together.
‘You were the other runner on the Great Wall of China,’ Arkie said. ‘That was you on the flying fox, wasn’t it? You shredded the scroll and threw the pieces into the air.’
‘Guilty as charged,’ said Clem Sparkle. ‘But I’ve no time for small talk. Give me the ruby. I’ve come a long way for it.’
‘So have I,’ said Arkie. ‘I don’t know what you and your sister are up to but I know what I have to do. Get out of my way.’
She ran towards the door just as Clem Sparkle lunged at her.
He grabbed the red bag and they both began to pull it – a fierce tug of war.
‘GIVE IT TO ME,’ said Clem Sparkle.
‘NEVER,’ said Arkie Sparkle.
They tugged and pulled and tugged.
There was a loud tearing sound and the side of the bag ripped.
Before either of them could react, the ruby fell to the ground.
And smashed into a thousand red pieces.
As the pieces twinkled across the floor, they both looked at it in amazement.
‘Rubies don’t smash,’ said Arkie.
‘Real rubies don’t,’ said Clem.
‘So that means it was a fake, a glass ruby,’ said Arkie. ‘Which means someone else has stolen the real ruby already.’
Which means it’s time to get out of here, thought Arkie. Before this mess gets messier.
Clem Sparkle must have been thinking the same thing.
They both charged at the door, spilling into the corridor, running along it, jostling each other.
As Arkie reached the stairs up to the deck, with Clem just a second behind, a dark shadow loomed in the space above them. Blackbeard.
‘What have we here?’ he bellowed, walking down the stairs and grabbing them both. ‘Two young hotheads spoiling for a fight. What’s going on?’
Clem and Arkie were silent.
‘Cat got your tongues, eh?’ said Blackbeard. ‘There’s more to being a pirate than having a fiery temper. You two will need to settle your differences. And you’ll do it the pirate way.’ He shouted to a man on deck. ‘Take them to the rigging. There’s to be a race to the top.’
News of the race spread through the crew and the men were already discussing who they thought would win when Clem and Arkie reached the base of the square-rigged sails.
Arkie looked at the intricate rigging towering into the sky and swallowed. It was a long way to the top.
She looked at Clem Sparkle. At least he doesn’t look so sure of himself now, she thought.
He was tugging at his cuff nervously.
TJ dropped her mop and rushed over to wipe Arkie’s brow and rub her hands in flour.
‘What’s this for?’ said Arkie.
‘Weight lifters use it for grip,’ said TJ. ‘I saw them doing it at the last Olympics. But what’s going on?’
‘I found the ruby but it was a fake,’ whispered Arkie. ‘And that boy,’ she nodded at Clem. ‘That’s Clem Sparkle.’
‘WHAT?’ said TJ. ‘Another Sparkle?’
‘He’s Cate’s twin,’ said Arkie. ‘I knew he looked familiar. I don’t know why but he’s after the ruby too. We were fighting over the fake and then we were sprung by Blackbeard.’
‘Rigging race about to commence,’ shouted a pirate. ‘Back your climber now.’
The pirates cheered and began to drop coins into a hat.
Anne Bonney slapped Arkie on the shoulder. ‘Do me proud,’ she said. ‘Show these old sea dogs what a girl can do.’
‘Racers, ready,’ shouted Blackbeard.
He fired his gun into the air and Arkie and Clem ran forwards.
They began to climb up the shrouds, the wires that supported the mast. Strung between them were the ratlines, which formed a ladder made of netting. They were encrusted with years of sea salt. Arkie could feel the rope digging deep into her hands, cutting through the soft skin and then stinging it with salt – like a squeeze of lemon on an open wound.
Higher and higher she climbed, keeping her eyes on the way up, planning where to put her hand, where to put her foot.
The cheers of the pirates became fainter as she climbed.
Arkie hated tight spaces but she was okay with heights.
When she was little, she was always scrambling up and down the monkey bars at the playground. Her mum used to call her a ‘little monkey’.
Up high, the roll of the ship seemed greater and the wind much stronger.
Her arms began to ache from the effort of lifting her whole body.
She couldn’t hear the cheers any more. Just the rush of the wind in her ears.
A passing seagull paused midair, startled to see her so high in the sky.
She took a breath and glanced below.
Clem Sparkle was close behind but she could see that he was slowing down.
I can win this, she thought. Just keep going.
She was about to take another step when she heard a cry.
Clem’s foot had slipped and he was dangling by one hand.
Arkie looked down. The deck was so far below. And so hard.
He’d break his back if he fell. Or worse.
She looked up. The crow’s nest was so close. A few more handgrips and she would be there. The winner. Free to find the real ruby, to be one treasure closer to finding her parents.
‘Grab my hand,’ she yelled.
Clem was sweating with fear and he didn’t seem to hear her words.
‘CLEM,’ she shouted. ‘Look at me. My hand. Take it. Don’t look down.’
He grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.
‘Put your other hand up on the next rope,’ she said. ‘Slowly. And the next one. That’s it. Follow me.’
> Higher and higher they climbed up the rigging, matching handgrip for handgrip.
Arkie reached the crow’s nest first and put out her hand for Clem.
He took it and they clambered over the side together.
Stormy Seas
‘It’s not what you think, Arkie,’ said Clem Sparkle, gasping and huddled in a corner of the crow’s nest. He was shaking and white.
I don’t like small spaces and he doesn’t like heights, thought Arkie. It must be a family thing.
‘I’m tired of everyone telling me that,’ said Arkie. ‘I think it’s exactly what I think. You dobbed us in to Blackbeard and I think you’re involved with the kidnappers. Where are my mum and dad?’
Clem smiled sadly. ‘I didn’t dob you into Blackbeard. The Quartermaster did that. He’d been watching you and TJ at the party. He’s a suspicious pirate and he knew he’d never seen you before. I know you’ve got no reason to trust me but there may be a time when you need my help. Sparkles remember their debts, and I’ll remember mine to you.’ He handed her a piece of paper.
‘It’s my mobile and it’s easy to remember,’ he said. ‘It’s a palindrome: CLEM 0412662140.’
So he likes palindromes too, thought Arkie as she looked at the number.
But even as she was thinking this, something else was ringing in her head, like a train at a faraway station.
Letters and numbers. Numbers and letters. Where had she seen that recently? Arkie gasped. In a letter. In Dad’s letter: E042 D1988 I82 E7
It was a phone number.
It was Edie’s phone number. E042 D1988 I82 E7
She could see it so clearly now.
She needed to tell TJ immediately. This was major news.
‘OK, bye, I’ve got to go,’ she said, climbing over the side of the crow’s nest.
‘Wait, I’m coming too,’ said Clem.
They scrambled down the rigging quickly. It was much faster going down.
When they reached the bottom, no one was waiting for them.
The pirates on deck weren’t watching the race any longer. They were shouting at each other and roping items together as the ship rolled from side to side.