Chapter the 21st
Sheila screamed as she flung her arms out to grab unto something. When her arms closed over the back of an upturned chair, she did not feel very secure, but it was better than nothing. Only then did she realize that neither Roger nor Samantha had screamed at all, and that embarrassed her.
“Is everybody okay?” Roger asked.
“I only bruised my elbows and my knees,” Samantha replied.
“I—think so,” said Sheila, “but how do we get out of here?”
“Probably through the window, if we can break it,” Roger answered.
Sheila heard some rummaging about the car. She moved her hands along the floor in case she came up with something, but she didn’t. The only light at all came from the horrid toy piano. Sheila thought she would have felt comforted if Theodora were still playing it, but she wasn’t.
“Sheila, do you have your candle?” Samantha asked her.
“No.”
“You’d better get if you know what’s good for the universe,” said Roger.
“Oh, all right,” said Sheila.
She turned around to where she hoped the table was, but she didn’t find it. She heard one of the children strike the window with something, but whatever it was, it has no effect.
“Oh, broken violin necks!” Roger muttered under his breath.
Sheila saw the pink piano moving across the car and thought maybe it’s light would help her find the candle. But when she walked toward it, she tripped over a rolling object and hit the front of a chair.
“I hope that was the candle,” said Samantha.
Sheila reached over as soon as she had recovered from that fall and closed her fingers over the candle.
“Yes, it was,” said Sheila.
Another blow struck the window, this time hard enough to break the glass.
“Nice going, Roger,” said Samantha.
“Thanks for giving me credit for something I didn’t accomplish,” said Roger. “There’s not enough window broken for us to get out, though.”
“Stand back!” a man’s voice warned.
It was the engineer. Sheila remained where she was as another blow shattered more of the window’s glass.
“How’s that?” asked the engineer.
“Not enough,” said Samantha.
“I think we need your help, Fenrir,” said the engineer.
A large silvery paw slipped itself into the wreckage and pulled away a large chunk of the trailn car’s window. Then a large furry face with yellow eyes poked its nose into the car and growled contentedly. Sheila squeaked in terror, fearing that she and her companions were in worse trouble than ever.
“Thanks, Fenrir!” said Roger to the animal.
“Thanks, Fenrir!” Samantha echoed her brother.
Sheila said nothing.
“Better thank him,” Roger prompted Sheila.
“Thanks Fenrir!” Sheila said dutifully, only slightly reassured that the two children seemed to think the wolf was safe enough.
“Come on out,” urged the engineer. “Watch for the broken glass.”
“We can’t see anything to watch,” said Samantha.
“You know what he means,” said Roger. “Sheila, give me your hand.”
Making sure she had a good hold of her candle, Sheila fumbled her way forward until a hand gripped hers. Roger guided her through the broken window and outside the car where she managed to gain a precarious foothold on a rough and rocky surface. A very dim light from further ahead revealed the faces of Samantha and Roger and the engineer. She could also see that they were standing on a pile of rubble of what was once the train. To Sheila’s relief, the wolf was moving along the train, away from her and her companions.
“Ah!” cried the engineer. “Fenrir got you out as well! I thought he would!”
“Fenrir’s never failed anybody yet,” said Roger.
“Now that is a comforting thought for a time when we can use a comforting thought or two,” said the engineer. “Are you all here?”
“All present and accounted for,” Roger announced, “except Kevin the Illuminator and Mapmaker, who jumped train while we were traveling across his treasure island.”
The engineer grunted with displeasure.
“That little detail will destroy the whole universe if somebody else doesn't put it right,” said the engineer.
“We tried to stop the train and get him,” said Sheila.
“That wouldn’t have done any good,” said the engineer. “More children jumping the train wouldn’t have helped at all.”
“But what about Kevin?” asked Sheila.
“I’m sure something or somebody will turn up for him,” said the engineer with forced cheerfulness.
Sheila sniffed the air and concluded that she was breathing normally again.
“I thought we were under water,” said Sheila.
“We are,” said Roger.
“Then how come I can breathe?”
“Because we’re under the water,” said Samantha.
“Oh.”
Just then, Sheila saw a pink blur moving away in the opposite direction than the one taken by the wolf.
“Theodora!” Sheila cried out, feeling foolish about calling a teddy bear.
“What’s the matter?” asked Samantha.
“I think Theodora’s walking away with that piano,” Sheila answered.
“That’s okay,” said Roger. “I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”
“Theodora will come back if you need her,” Samantha promised.
“How do you know?” Sheila asked.
“Because Roger says Theodora knows what she’s doing,” Samantha replied, proving yet again the futility of asking questions of these children.
A rumbling sound from the end of the train interrupted the conversation. Sheila could hardly see anything back there, but she thought she saw a train car detach itself from the rest of the train and run off in a direction of its own.
“There goes Kevin’s caboose,” Roger remarked, confirming Sheila’s impression of what she saw.
“Do you think it’s gone to look for Kevin?” asked Sheila.
“It’ll find whoever it’s supposed to find,” said the engineer.
“Are we going to stay here until we fade into the Dark Lake, or are we going to go where Fenrir went and see what happens?” asked Roger.
“I suppose we can do worse than follow Fenrir’s lead,” said the engineer.
“Then let’s go!” Samantha exclailmed.
“Now you just hold your mastodons, my lad!” the engineer called after him. “Since we don't where we are yet, and we can't see much, we'd better stick together.”
Samantha and Roger held back until Sheila and the engineer caught up with them. Holding hands, the group picked their way over the rubble of the train wreck and came to a stone wall that the train had plowed into. The children and the engineer navigated their way over the wall and the wreckage to where they could see a city of domed houses and shops with pointed towers. Bright shining jewels glowing from the buildings offered the only light to be seen in a city otherwise engulfed by darkness.
“It looks to me like we’ve just found a lost city,” Roger remarked.
The engineer scratched his head.
“If we’ve just found it, is it still a lost city?” asked the engineer.
“It’s still lost if nobody knows where it is,” said Samantha. “And I don’t think we know where it is.”
“I think it’s in the middle of the Dark Lake,” said Roger.
“Big help that is,” said Samantha.
“Well, I think our best bet is to see if any lost people in this lost city are at home,” said the engineer.
He jumped down to the other side of the wall and then helped the children jump down. Then the children cautiously walked down one of the widest streets. Sheila looked about nervously for any visible sign of life, but saw nothing.
“I think maybe the people are lost, too,” said Sheila.
“I wouldn’t tell them that if I were you,” said the engineer.
The children and the engineer continued on down the street until it opened into a square that was shrouded in darkness. Half of the square was circled by more jewel-studded buildings, but the buildings broke off into the darkness, as if they were half-finished drawings. A scuffling noise and the sound of whispers brought the children and the engineer close together. Then the cries of many voices rang out and the engineer and children felt sharp pricks all over their bodies. Sheila made herself as stiff as a board. In the dim light, the assailants who surrounded the group appeared to be a group of pale-faced children dressed in furs. Then the real children, shorter yet, popped out among their elders. They, too, held spears and they looked ready to use them.
-------------
Karen bunched herself with the boys and on the stony beach of the island and shivered from the cold. The surf rolled in almost to her toes before receding back into the ocean. A few scrubby trees grew on higher ground. The light house, silhouetted by the setting sun, tilted at a precarious angle in the water behind the wrecked ship.
“What should we do now, Chief Captain, Sir?” asked Captain Geoffrey.
“I have no idea,” said Chief Captain Karen.
“But you’re the Chief Captain,” said Captain Hilary.
“Some Chief Captain I am!” Chief Captain Karen exclaimed in disgust. “In my first command, I wreck the ship and lose my first and third mates.”
“I hope you don’t mind my telling you that I think it’s the sea monster that wrecked the ship, not you,” said Captain Scratch.
“And it’s the sea monster that got Captain Ni-Ni—“ Captain Dennis couldn’t finish before he was overwhelmed by his sobs.
“Like Captain Dennis says,” said Captain Polly as he put his arm around Captain Dennis, “it wasn’t Chief Captain Karen who got Captain Nigel and Captain Edmund lost, it’s the sea monster that did it.”
“Some reward for trying to be nice to it like Captain Dennis said we should be,” said Captain Michael.
Captain Dennis tried to frame an angry reply but he couldn’t overcome his tears.
“I still say Chief Captain Karen made the right decision,” Captain Polly insisted, “or I'm a whale with its tail twisted around a sea castle.”
“Castle in the sea,” chirped Polydorus.
“Better start twisting your tail,” said a sullen Captain Geoffrey.
“I take exception to that!” Captain Polly yelled angrily.
“And I take exception to your exception!” Captain Eagle retorted. “If that sea monster was a well-mannered sea monster that shows gratitude to pirates who feed it rum, Captain Nigel and Captain Edmund would be alive and on this island right now!”
“And I take exception to your exception to my exception!” Captain Polly thundered.
Chief Captain Karen clapped her hands as loudly as she could.
“I order all pirates and all choirboys to stop arguing. Arguing won’t bring Captain Nigel or Captain Edmund back.”
To Chief Captain Karen’s surprise, her voice almost choked over those words.
“You never know,” said Captain Hilary.
“My Great Aunt says that sometimes, if you protest loud enough and long you get your way,” said Captain Dennis.
“The point is,” said Chief Captain Karen, determined to be as practical as she could, “We are marooned on a strange island and we are cold and hungry. We have to deal with being cold first—“
“But we’re hungry!” one of the boys wailed.
“I don’t care if I’m cold as long as we find something to eat,” said another boy.
“No, we must make ourselves warm, first,” Chief Captain Karen insisted. “We can live for two weeks without food if we have to, but we will die of exposure much sooner if we stay in this wind any longer, wet as we are.”
“Let’s swim out to that lighthouse,” Captain Hilary suggested.
“It’s not a very good lighthouse,” said Captain Michael. “It didn’t even light up the rocks for us.”
“That lighthouse looks like it’s going to fall into the water any minute,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“Or the lighthouse might blow away,” Captain Dennis warned.
“How do you know?” asked Captain Hilary.
“For one thing,” Captain Dennis replied, “it’s in the middle of the ocean where it doesn’t belong, and so . . .”
A rumbling sound took the words out of Captain Dennis’ mouth. The lighthouse tilted further and then suddenly disappeared as if an invisible hand had snatched it in the dark. The lighthouse was gone as cleanly as if it had never been there.
“Nice going, Captain Dennis,” said Captain Hilary.
“I didn’t do it,” said Captain Dennis.
“Yes, you did,” Captain Hilary charged.
“I don’t care whose fault it is,” the Chief Captain intervened, “we simply must gather firewood, if we possibly can before we freeze to death.”
“It will take some looking in this dark and cold, Sir,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“Dark and cold,” added the parakeet.
“Actually,” said Captain Patch, “I think it may be just dark enough that I can use me good eye.”
Before Chief Captain Karen could ask what he meant by his good eye, Captain Patch tore the black patch that covered his right eye. A pale beam of light flowed from the eye socket that allowed the crew to see a few feet ahead.
“Well,” said Captain Patch, his voice shaking a bit, “I always thought my blindness would be good for something. Too bad they didn't blind the other eye while they were at it.”
“Explore the island!” Chief Captain Karen ordered, “and find some fire wood.”
The boys and the pirates responded to the order with a cheer, and clustered around Captain Patch as he lead the way up a rocky slope. When they reached the top, they came to a sudden halt and practically knocked each other over.
“What’s the matter?” asked Chief Captain Karen.
“Two dark figures up ahead, sir,” Captain Geoffrey whispered in Karen's ear.
“Better ask who they are,” Captain Polly prompted Karen.
“Don't worry, we have them outnumbered,” Captain Eagle assured her.
The pirates gently pushed Karen to the front, but Captain Hilary and Captain Geoffrey gallantly stepped in front of their Chief Captain. She saw the dark outlines by the shore clearly enough and saw that they were walking in her direction.
“Dark figures up ahead!” Chief Captain Karen yelled out, “please identify yourselves.”
“Come and see,” replied a familiar high-pitched voice.
“We have you outnumbered!” Captain Scratch roared. “Identify yourselves!”
“We are the Stouthearted Outnumbered Ones!” rang out a familiar adolescent voice.
“I think we can safely surround them without drawing weapons,” said the Chief Captain as relief warmed her freezing body.
Those pirates who had pulled out swords or pistols obediently put them away and the eyes of crew followed the light from Captain Patch's eye as it revealed the smiling faces of Captain Nigel and Captain Edmund.
“Well I'll be a swordfish with its snout caught in a donut,” said Captain Polly.
“Caught in a donut,” chirped the parakeet.
“I told you we did the right thing when we gave that monster our rum,” said Captain Dennis.
“You sure did,” said Captain Edmund, “and Nigel and I had to smell it the whole time the monster gave us a ride on his tongue until we made it to the island.”
“EW!” chorused the pirates and boys.
“My sentiments exactly,” said Chief Captain Karen with a shudder.
“It wasn’t so bad,” said Captain Nigel.
“Then the monster picked up the ship in its claws and put it right by the shore,” said Captain Edmund.
“Is that the truth, pirates’ honor?” asked Captain Polly.
“Pirates’ honor,” Captain Nigel affirmed.
“Now that we’ve got Captain Nigel and Captain Edmund back, how about getting some firewood?’ asked Captain Polly.
“That’s right!” exclaimed Captain Eagle, “we need a fire if we’re going to keep warm.”
“There is one problem with that suggestion,” said Captain Nigel.
“One problem,” echoed the parakeet.
“And what, pray tell, is that one problem?” asked Captain Polly.
“There is no firewood on the island,” Captain Nigel replied.
Several outcries greeted the announcement, so that Chief Captain Karen was required to clap her hands once again to restore order.
“How do you know there is no firewood on this island?” the Chief Captain asked.
“Because there isn’t any firewood on the map,” said Captain Edmund.
“What map?” asked Chief Captain Karen.
“This map,” said Captain Nigel as he pulled a soggy scroll out from under his torn shirt.
“Let me have a look at it,” said Chief Captain Karen.
Captain Nigel walked up to the Chief Captain with the map and Captain Patch let the light from his patched eye shine on the parchment. The rest of the crew crowded around to get as good a view as they could.
“Why I’ll be a seahorse with its tail wrapped around a leg of an octopus!” said Captain Polly. “There’s not one piece of firewood on this map.”
“I guess not even Kevin the Illuminator and Map Maker can think of everything,” said Captain Nigel.
“Does that mean we’re going to freeze to death?” asked one of the boys.
“Not if we find the treasure before we freeze,” said Captain Nigel.
“The route to the treasure and the X to mark the spot are on the map,” said Chief Captain Karen.
“That means the treasure is on this island,” said Captain Edmund.
The chilled air was suddenly filled with cries of “Buried treasure!” “Gold!” “Frankincense!” “Myrrh!”
“ORDER!” Chief Captain yelled out.
“Which way, mate?” asked Captain Eagle when the din had died down.
“Seems to be the path to the right,” said Captain Edmund.
“If you turn the map properly,” said Captain Nigel, “you’ll find that it's the path to the left.”
Captain Edmund's cheeks flushed with shame. Captain Polly peered at the map over Captain Edmund's shoulder.
“To the left it is,” said Captain Polly, “at least that's the right direction.”
“Right direction,” said Polyphony.
The touch of laughter made Edmund feel a bit better, and he joined in the march without sulking too much. The boys and pirates sang “The Coast of Barbary” and “A-Roving” several times as they followed the directions on the map, first turning one way, then another. At last they reached the ash tree pictured on the map. Under the ash tree, the ground was marked by a large red X.
“We come in peace,” Roger announced to the crowd.
The pale inhabitants of the Lost City looked at each other and braced their spears, ready to attack.
“Why do you come at all?” asked one of the short men closest to the children.
“Because our train ran into your city wall,” Samantha explained.
That reply was greeted with much grumbling.
“And I suppose you are blaming us for your train wreck!” a woman charged.
“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way,” said the engineer. “You had no way of knowing we was coming when you build that city wall.”
“We didn’t build the wall,” said a man, “so don’t blame us for what it did.”
“And why would you be taking a train our way in the first place?” asked an older man.
“Because we are on a quest for the disappearing light,” Roger replied.
“Look!’ cried a boy. “That girl’s got candle! She came to steal our fire to light that thing!
The hubbub swelled and Sheila pressed the candle to her collarbone.
“Do you mean to say that you have a fire?” asked Roger.
“No, he doesn’t mean that,” said a woman. “We’ve got no fire and we’ve got no light. Does it look like we do?”
“I can’t rightly say there isn’t any fire that I can see around here,” said the engineer as he scratched his long beard. “I can’t see any light at all except for the jewels on your buildings.”
“They want to steal our jewels!” yelled a man.
That accusation brought on an even louder outcry among the crowd. The townspeople closest to the children prodded their captives with their spears to force them into the middle of the square before they backed off towards the dark edge of it. Sheila shrank back and grabbed the engineer’s firm and comforting hand. If Roger and Samantha were frightened, they didn't show it. The engineer, on the other hand appeared quite frightened and yet determined to protect Sheila as best he could. Meanwhile, a small group of townspeople huddled together and conferred among themselves.
“You neglected to draw our town and bring it to life,” a boy accused the children in a mournful voice.
“We did?” Roger asked.
“Somebody did,” said a sullen young man.
“If only we still had Kevin with us,” Sheila complained. “He could draw the rest of the town for them.”
“Of course!” cried Samantha. “If you wait for our companion, Kevin the Illuminator and Map Maker, to come,” Samantha announced to the crowd, “he will draw your city and bring it to the light of day.”
There was a mixed reaction in the crowd to those words.
“What if Kevin doesn’t come?” Sheila whispered to Samantha.
“We’ve nothing to lose by giving him a chance,” Samantha whispered back.
“If Kevin the Illuminator and Map Maker has not drawn our city by now, then he never will,” said a young woman.
“And if he hasn't come already,” added a girl, “he never will!”
“Lead them in to the Dark Lake!” cried a woman.
“Into the Lake with them!” yelled a boy.
A loud cheer greeted that suggestion. Sheila’s heart sank. The spokesman detached himself from the group he was conferring with and strode over to the prisoners. The people turned quiet, waiting for the man’s announcement.
“We have decided,” the man announced, “that the four of you will be sacrificed to the Dark Lake.”
The engineer pressed Sheila to his chest. Roger and Samantha stood straighter than ever, apparently determined to take even this sentence in stride.
“What is the purpose of the sacrifice?” Roger asked the town elder.
“The purpose of the sacrifice is to of appease the Dark Lake in the hope that it will give us back the light,” the elder explained. “We had thought that the wolf would be a sufficient sacrifice, but the way of things has proven that he was not. It is evident that we need a greater sacrifice. Three children and one train engineer should be a sufficient sacrifice.”
“You sacrificed Fenrir?!” Roger cried.
“Is that the name of the wolf?” asked a white-haired woman who was among the counsel of elders.
“Of course that’s the wolf’s name,” Roger replied. What other wolf would come along at a time like this?”
“But—but Fenrir swallowed a lot of the light to save it from the Dark Lake and from them,” said Samantha. “If you had asked Fenrir for some of the light, he would have given it to you.”
“He did not offer it,” said the elder, “and therefore we offered him.”
“The powers of the World have brought you here for the very purpose of saving our lives,” said the woman. “If you enter the Dark Lake, the Dar Lake will give back its light.”
A loud shout rang out from the crowd. Sheila would have screamed if her throat were not so tight with fear. The engineer kept an arm tight around her shoulder to steady her although he appeared to need as much comforting himself. Roger and Samantha shrugged their shoulders as if they were sacrificed to dark lakes every day. The people behind the captives dug their spears into their backs to make them walk forward. Other people moved in front of them and held their spears in the air so as to make a canopy for the children and the engineer who were about to be sacrificed. With a crescendo of yelling, the townspeople prodded the children down a street that broke off into darkness after only a few houses. Suddenly thinking of her parents, and fearing that they would never know what had become of her, Sheila started to cry.
“Are you scared?” asked Roger.
“Yes,” Sheila sobbed.
“We’ll help you,” Samantha promised.
“Just keep your candle,” Roger reminded Sheila.
Roger and Samantha took Sheila and the engineer both by the hand as the townspeople cried out louder and louder and then pushed their victims over the edge of the street.