The Secret of the Dark Waterfall

by Alexander McCall Smith

  The tide was now moving much more rapidly, and once they had pushed the boat out from the shore it was quickly caught by the current. The single oar they had left proved useful as a rudder. By lowering its blade into the water behind them, Ben and Badger were able to steer the boat – but it was hard work in such a strong current. As they approached the narrows, where the current ran at its fastest, they struggled with the oar, just managing to keep clear of the jagged rocks on either side of the passage. But then they were through, and everybody gave a cheer when the boat at last drifted out into calm open water.

  “We’ve done it!” shouted Tanya.

  “Look, there’s the Tobermory,” Poppy yelled. Henry, just as excited and relieved as the others, added a few barks to the clamour. Miss Worsfold, though, was beginning to feel anxious. “I hope they see us,” she said. There was a danger, she thought, that they might not and they could end up drifting out to sea. That would be serious, as a small boat like theirs, especially with no outboard and just one oar, could very easily be swamped by the first large wave it encountered.

  Fortunately, Miss Worsfold’s fears proved unfounded. No sooner had they made it through the narrows than Amanda Birtwhistle, who happened to be on the deck of the Tobermory at the time, spotted them. Quickly fetching a pair of binoculars, she trained them on the boat. She instantly recognised Miss Worsfold at the bow and Ben and Badger at the stern. And Henry’s head, leaning over the side.

  Amanda made her way down to the Captain’s cabin to tell him what she had seen. He was soon on deck with Mr Rigger, who gave the order to lower one of the small boats.

  “It looks like they need a tow,” said Mr Rigger as he summoned Rory Quinn to lend a hand. Rory fetched a strong rope from a locker and then the two of them set off on their rescue mission.

  Ben was the first to see them approaching. Standing up in the boat, he waved his arms energetically crossways in the distress signal that is always recognised at sea. From the other boat, Rory waved back.

  “They’ll be here in no time,” said Matron, with relief. She was not very fond of small boats and was keen to be back on board the Tobermory as soon as possible.

  A line was thrown from boat to boat and safely secured. Then, with the engine of the rescue boat straining at the task, they made their way slowly back to the safety of the Tobermory. Captain Macbeth was there to welcome them as they climbed back up the gangway that had been lowered for their return.

  “Come down to my cabin straight away,” he said. “Mr Rigger and I would like to know exactly what happened.”

  Once inside, Miss Worsfold did most of the talking, although she left it to Ben and Badger to relate what had happened behind the waterfall. “It was really Henry who found the treasure,” said Ben. “He deserves the credit.”

  The Captain smiled. “I’m sure Cook will make him a fine dinner as a reward,” he said, but his smile faded when Miss Worsfold told him how they thought their boat had been sabotaged by the crew of the Swordfish.

  “Yes, I noticed the Swordfish at anchor near the entrance to the narrows, and there’s no sign of anyone on board. I think we’d better get back to that cave soon as possible,” he said. “Those people are definitely up to no good.”

  Mr Rigger agreed. “I’ll find some large sacks,” he said. “Cook usually has some. We can use them to carry the treasure back.”

  “I’ll come myself,” said Captain Macbeth. “And Mr Rigger.” He looked at Ben, and then at Badger. “And you two, I think – to show us the way.”

  “And Henry,” Badger suggested.

  “Yes,” said the Captain. “I think Henry deserves to come too.”

  Half an hour later, the boat carrying the Captain, Mr Rigger, Ben, Badger – and Henry – nosed away from the side of the Tobermory and headed back towards the narrows. It was slack tide now, the point at which the tide is neither going out nor coming in, and so there was no current to hinder their progress. Soon they had negotiated their way through the narrows, and the beach and river mouth were in sight.

  “Captain!” Ben said, tugging urgently at Captain Macbeth’s sleeve. “Look – there’s a boat.”

  “And some people,” Mr Rigger added. “It looks as if they’re loading something.”

  Captain Macbeth stopped the engine. “I’ll take a closer look,” he said, raising his binoculars.

  They waited in silence while he assessed the situation. They did not have long to wait, though, as he soon lowered the binoculars and handed them to Mr Rigger. “What do you think, Mr Rigger?” he asked.

  Mr Rigger took the binoculars. When he had finished with them, his expression was grim. “Gold,” he said. “They’re loading gold objects into the boat.”

  “Just as I feared,” Captain Macbeth said. “We’ll have to try and stop them.”

  Without delay, the Captain opened the throttle of the outboard engine and the boat pushed forcefully through the water, creating a widening white wake behind it. On the shore, the four men hauling the Viking treasure onto their boat looked up, alerted by the noise of the engine. They had just loaded the last of the items, and lost no time in leaping into the boat and starting the outboard. Theirs was a much more powerful engine and it propelled their vessel through the water at a speed that Captain Macbeth could never manage.

  It was an unequal contest, and it soon became clear that there was no chance of stopping the Swordfish crew from getting back to their boat with the treasure and rapidly hauling up their anchor. By the time Captain Macbeth’s boat had made it back through the narrows, the Swordfish was already on the move and heading out towards the open sea. Realising that there was no point in continuing the chase, Captain Macbeth turned his boat back towards the Tobermory.

  Ben and Badger watched in dismay. They had been thrilled at finding Viking treasure, but now they felt only intense disappointment. It had lain hidden for so long, and now, just when it was within their grasp, it had been snatched from under their very noses.

  By the time they reached the Tobermory they had given up all hope. Unless they left their anchorage within a matter of minutes, the Swordfish would soon be well beyond their reach and the treasure would be gone forever.

  But Captain Macbeth was not yet ready to give up. “All hands on deck! All hands on deck!” he boomed over the public address system. “We set sail as soon as possible. And Mr Rigger, please radio the coastguard and tell them there’s a boat making off with Viking treasure!”

  The crew had practised emergency departure many times, and now, doing it for real, they went through all the steps with ease. In record time the great anchor was raised and safely secured, loose items lashed down or stowed, and the main sails freed from their bindings. Then, with Captain Macbeth at the helm, the ship turned its bow in the direction of the fleeing Swordfish. The chase was on.

  Ben and Badger were working the sails, winding in the sheets – the lines used to make the foresails drumskin-tight to the wind. It was a hard task, but they enjoyed working together and they made a good team. Poppy and Fee were on helming duty with Captain Macbeth, responding to his shouted instructions to adjust their course by five degrees here and ten degrees there. Up on the main mast, perched in the crow’s nest, Rory and Tanya kept a lookout for the Swordfish and shouted to the Captain down below when they sighted their target.

  The Tobermory carried more sail than the Swordfish. This gave them an advantage when it came to speed, and that, together with expert sailing on the young crew’s part, meant that they gradually gained on the other ship. That caused alarm on the Swordfish, whose crew could be seen running around the deck desperately trying to coax their sails into giving them an extra turn of speed. They did not succeed, though, and slowly but surely the Tobermory got closer and closer.

  It was then that the captain of the Swordfish made his decision. He had realised that he would not be able to get away, and if he were stopped – as seemed certain now – he would be caught red-handed with stolen treasure on board.


  With a worried look on his face, he ordered his men to turn the boat into the wind. This meant the vessel immediately slowed down, coming to a halt some way off a bay fringed by a wide beach.

  Watching from the deck of the Tobermory, Badger asked Ben what he thought the other ship was doing. But before Ben could say anything, the answer became clear. On the deck of the Swordfish the crew could be seen carrying sacks up from down below and tossing them into the water.

  “Oh no,” groaned Ben. “They’re throwing the treasure into the water.”

  Captain Macbeth had noticed this too, and he shouted out in anger. “Oh, you can’t do that!” he yelled, shaking his fists at the same time. “Stop, you villains! Stop!”

  Of course the crew of the Swordfish paid no attention to this, and soon every sack of treasure had been dumped overboard. And then the Swordfish turned sharply, picking up the wind once more, and sped off.

  Poppy was standing on deck near Captain Macbeth and Mr Rigger as they surveyed the scene, listening to their debate.

  “We must go after them,” said Mr Rigger. “We can’t let them get away. We have to keep on their tail until the coastguard gets here.”

  Captain Macbeth frowned. “But if we chase them, we’ll never find the treasure again. It will be carried out into the depths by the current.”

  “But if we stay to get the treasure,” said Mr Rigger, “they’ll get clean away.”

  It was a very difficult decision for Captain Macbeth to take. If they chased the Swordfish, they lost the treasure; if they stayed to recover the treasure, they lost the Swordfish. For a few moments he hesitated, uncertain as to what to do. Then Poppy made her suggestion.

  “Why not do both?” she asked. “We can send a small boat with divers to get the treasure. They can bring it up while we chase after the Swordfish. Then the Tobermory can come back for the divers.”

  Captain Macbeth stroked his beard. “I think that just might be a very good idea, Poppy,” he said. Then, without wasting any more time, he ordered the Tobermory to turn round so that they could go to the place where they had seen the treasure being thrown overboard. As the Tobermory cut through the water, her sails billowing in the wind, Matron and Miss Worsfold were kitted out in diving gear. A boat was put over the side to be rowed by Tanya and Thomas to take the divers to where the treasure had entered the water.

  Once the dive boat had been dispatched, the Tobermory set out after the Swordfish, using every ounce of speed the Captain could muster. The Swordfish had a start on them, of course, but once again the superior sailing skill of the Tobermory’s crew, and the fact that she was a bigger ship, worked to their advantage.

  Soon they had caught up with the other boat and Captain Macbeth was able to shout across the small distance that separated the two vessels. “You’ll never get away!” he shouted. “The coastguard is on the way. You must surrender.”

  No sooner had he given them this message than Ben spotted the coastguard vessel, the Dolphin, approaching at great speed. “They’re almost here,” he shouted to the Captain.

  Captain Macbeth ordered Poppy to the helm. “Don’t get too close,” he said to her. “Just stick on their tail.”

  Poppy was an expert at the helm, and she kept the Tobermory a constant distance from the Swordfish. It was tiring work, but it was not long before the Dolphin, cutting through the water like a knife through butter, came up behind them.

  “We’re going to board her!” shouted the captain of the Dolphin. “Stand by.”

  Everybody on the Tobermory watched in anticipation as the naval boat edged closer and closer to the Swordfish. And when the boarding party leapt onto the other ship’s deck and took control, the Tobermory crew gave a loud cheer – everyone, that is, except Hardtack, Shark and Flubber, who had looked glum throughout the entire operation.

  “Well done, everyone,” said Captain Macbeth, pleased that his young crew had performed so well again. “Poppy, that was excellent helming,” he added. “Now, Hardtack and Shark, come with me. And Flubber too – I can’t believe you’re not involved in this too, somehow. I’d like to know more about the crew of the Swordfish and how they came to know about the Viking treasure. I don’t believe they found out about it all on their own.”

  The three boys followed the Captain down below, their heads bowed, as everyone else looked on. “In trouble again,” murmured Fee as they shuffled past. What will the punishment be this time? she thought to herself. However harsh it was, they would still be given another chance. Captain Macbeth was reluctant to give up on people. But they would have to be very careful in future.

  While the coastguard crew were on board the Swordfish making their arrest, Ben was standing at the rail with Rory Quinn, watching everything that was happening. Rory was very quiet and trembling slightly, and Ben asked him whether anything was wrong.

  “Aren’t you pleased they’ve been caught?” he asked.

  Rory turned to him. He pointed mutely towards the other boat. It seemed to Ben that something was stopping him from speaking.

  “Are you all right, Rory?” he asked, now very concerned about his friend.

  It took a few moments for Rory to respond. Then he said, in a voice that was cracked with emotion, “It’s him, Ben! It’s him.”

  “Who?” asked Ben. “What are you talking about, Rory?”

  Rory pointed towards the Swordfish. “Their captain,” he stuttered. “It’s him. The pirate.”

  It took Ben a few moments to work out what Rory meant, but then he understood. “You mean that’s the man who got away after robbing your father’s boat? The one who threatened to get even with you?”

  Rory nodded. “Yes. It’s him. It’s definitely him.”

  Ben smiled. “Well, you won’t have to worry about him any longer, Rory. He’s safely under arrest now and will be spending a long time in prison, I imagine.”

  Rory stopped shaking. “It’s a great relief,” he said. “I’ve been frightened stiff for ages, Ben.”

  “No longer,” said Ben, patting Rory on the shoulder. “Your nightmare’s over, Rory.”

  That evening, Captain Macbeth addressed the whole school in the mess hall.

  “You will all have seen what happened this afternoon,” he began, “and I’m happy to report that the treasure will be handed over to the museum authorities, who even as I speak are on the way from Edinburgh specially to take possession of these important items.”

  This was the signal for everybody to clap. The Captain let the applause go on for a few seconds before he held up his hands to silence it. “I hope you’re not applauding me,” he said, “because I don’t deserve the credit for this. That goes to the two boys who discovered the treasure.”

  There was more applause, as everyone turned towards Ben and Badger.

  “And Henry too!” shouted Badger.

  Everybody laughed, and all eyes fell on the Captain’s dog, who lifted his head, uttered two barks and then curled up on the floor.

  Later, when they were lying in their hammocks after lights out and the ship was rocking gently at anchor, Badger said to Ben, “You know, Ben, I don’t think I’ll ever have as good a friend as you.”

  Ben waited a few moments before replying. “And I don’t think I’ll ever have one as good as you.”

  “We’re both lucky, then,” said Badger.

  “Yes,” said Ben. “I think we are.”

  And they were also lucky, Ben thought, to be at school on the School Ship Tobermory. The Captain had announced that the next day they would set sail for the Isle of Skye, a short distance to the north, and from there they would make a voyage all the way round the coast of Scotland. They had miles to go – miles and miles – but every one of those miles would be spent in the company of friends, and that, as everybody knows, makes any journey all the more rewarding, and all the more fun.

  The End

  If you have enjoyed this book, why not read other School Ship Tobermory adventures? Here is an excerpt from School Ship Tober
mory, the first book in the series.

  In Scotland in early summer, daylight lingers until it is quite late. For this reason they had to wait some time before it was dark enough to set off. But finally the last glow of the sun disappeared and the sea and the sky were joined in the same velvet black. Now the only light to be seen from the deck of the Tobermory were the silver pin-points of stars and, here and there, bobbing on the waves, the anchoring lights of boats in the bay.

  “That’s her,” whispered Matron, pointing to a group of lights not far away. “That’s their bow light up there; that’s their stern light, and that’s their mast. I can’t see any other lights, which means they’ve all gone off to bed. They’ll all be in their cabins.”

  “Just as well,” said Poppy.

  Matron looked about her. They had all gathered on deck. “Is everybody here?” she asked.

  “I think so,” said Poppy.

  “Right,” said Matron, still keeping her voice lowered. “Now, is everybody still happy to come along? If any of you are having second thoughts, now’s the time to say.”

  There was silence. Then a voice spoke up. “Would you mind if I stayed?”

  Everybody turned to see who had spoken.

  “You see,” said Angela Singh, “I’m just a little bit scared of the dark. I always have been.”

  If Angela had been anxious that people would laugh or make fun of her, her worries were soon shown to be unfounded.

  “That’s all right, Angela,” said Matron. “Lots of people don’t like the dark. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “No it isn’t,” said Ben, who was standing next to Angela. “Don’t worry. Nobody minds.”

  Matron asked Angela if she would stay on deck and keep a lookout. “It’ll be useful having somebody here,” she said. “If there’s any problem, then flash this.” She handed her a small black torch.

  Now everything was ready. Badger had clambered down the rope ladder to the liberty boat, and was ready to help people down to join him. Fee went first, followed by Poppy. Then came the other boys – Ben and Thomas – and finally Matron.