Chapter the 27th
The boys stood around the treasure chest, stunned. The crashing sound of its shutting rang in their ears.
“Do you think they’re all right?” Captain Martin asked in a subdued voice.
The pirates and the boys looked at each other uneasily.
“As I sees it, there’s only one way to find out,” said Captain Scratch, “and that’s to lift up the lid and take a peek inside and see what we can see.”
“The chest is filled with the Dark Lake,” said Captain Dennis.
“Are you suggesting we ain’t going to see anything on just because of the Dark Lake?” asked Captain Peg.
“I have a feeling that is exactly what Captain Dennis is suggesting,” said Captain Hilary.
“I still say we open that here lid and see what we can see,” said Captain Scratch. “We ain’t going to see how that there phoenix and our princess are going if we keep the treasure chest closed.”
“Melanie’s Web is sticking out,” Captain Polly pointed out. “If Melanie’s inside this here treasure chest, then the phoenix and Princess Mona and Scott and Chief Captain Karen and Captain Nigel and Captain Edmund have hope.”
“Have hope,” echoed the parrot.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” asked Captain Michael.
Captain Michael fell on the treasure chest without waiting for an answer. The pirates and the rest of the boys swarmed over the treasure chest a couple of seconds later. They all pulled at the lid and they took turns trying to pull up the latch. Captain Eagle dug at it with his wooden claw, but to no avail. When the boys and pirates, exhausted with their efforts, stopped to rest, they could see for themselves that they had failed to open the lid by even the slightest crack.
“That lid is closed tighter than a giant clam with ten thousand mastodons sitting on it,” said Captain Eagle. “We ain’t never going to get it open.”
“I guess that means we have to get along without Captain Nigel and Captain Edmund and Chief Captain Karen and Princess Mona and Scott and the phoenix, “ said Captain Michael.
“It sure don’t mean that any of them are going to be with us on this here island any time soon,” said Captain Polly.
“Any time soon,” chirped Polydorus.
The pirates and the boys sat down on the rocky shore and hung their heads. The beam of light coming out of Captain Patch’s eye socket cast a pool of light in front of the despondent group. The severed threads from Melanie’s Web hung limply from the mast of the ship, the only thing that made the wrecked ship visible from the shore.
We’ve got to do something,” said Captain Hilary, trying, but failing, to sound resolute.
“What do you propose, now that you’re acting head honcho of this here choir?” asked Captain Peg.
Captain Hilary frowned in concentrated thought for a moment, then suddenly fought off a tear. The boys other and the pirates looked at each other with crestfallen faces.
“We went on this voyage to find the lost light and bring it back,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“And the only light we have right now is the light from Captain Patch’s eye,” said Captain Polly.
“And we had that before we even started,” said Captain Martin.
“Well said,” said Captain Hilary.
“Well said,” echoed the parrot.
“I think my great aunt would want us to bring the treasure chest back to Carelin,” said Captain Dennis.
“That, too, is well said,” said Captain Hilary.
“What good will that do?” asked Captain Michael.
“Maybe Thomas the Blacksmith can open it,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“We’ve got to be sure we bring any jewels or pieces of eight that might be hiding out in that there treasure chest,” said Captain Flintlock.
“And we have to bring Chief Captain Karen and Captain Nigel and Captain Edmund back if they’re ever going to get out if Thomas the Blacksmith can open it,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“That also is well said by both of you,” said Captain Hilary.
“And we have to bring back the treasure chest in case some of the light is down there in the Dark Lake,” Captain Dennis piped up.
“That, too, is well said,” said Captain Hilary.
“I sees only one little problem with this plan,” said Captain Patch. “What I needs to know is how we’re gonna bring back the treasure chest—let alone ourselves—when our ship has been torn to smithereens.”
“We must repair the ship,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“Well said,” said Captain Hilary.
“And how do you propose to repair this here ship when we’re marooned on an island with no firewood, no wood for the ship, and no tools to work on the wood that we ain’t got?” asked Captain Eagle.
“That is a good, if troubling, question,” said Captain Hilary.
“I have an idea!” Captain Dennis squeaked.
“Do you see the thread from Melanie’s web sticking out from the treasure chest and the thread hanging from the mast of the ship out there?” Captain Dennis asked excitedly.
What good is one thread from Melanie’s Web going to be for the likes of us?” asked Captain Eagle.
Dennis’ lip quivered and he sat down dejectedly.
“I suppose that Captain Dennis thinks that all we need is a needle to pull the thread through sew the ship back together,” said Captain Michael.
When several boys and pirates laughed, Captain Dennis burst out into tears. Captain Polly went up to the inconsolable boy and put an arm around him.
“It ain’t your fault nobody’s never tried to sew up a pirate ship that’s wrecked on the rocks of a treasure island with a thread of Melanie’s Web,” said Captain Polly.
Captain Hilary walked up to Captain Dennis and stooped down in front of him, looking more serious than any of the choirboys had ever seen him before.
“Captain Dennis,” said Captain Hilary, “Has your Great Aunt ever told you about anybody who might know how to sew a ship together with a thread from Melanie’s Web?”
“No,” Captain Dennis sobbed.
“I don’t see how knowing who can sew our ship together will do us any good unless that somebody is already here on this here island,” said Captain Peg.
“”Captain Dennis,” said Captain Michael, “Didn’t your Great Aunt every teach you how to sew a wrecked ship with a spider’s web?”
Captain Dennis hid his face. Several boys and pirates smirked and made mocking faces at him. Captain Hilary snapped to his feet and glared at the mockers.
“Do you think it’s funny that we’re marooned on an island with nothing to sustain us?” he asked. That question wiped the smiles off of everybody’s faces. “Is anybody here more likely to know who could sew our ship back together than Captain Dennis?”
“I move that Captain Dennis stop crying and think about everybody his Great Aunt has talked about until he thinks of somebody who might know how sew the ship together if we call that person and that person comes,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“I second the motion,” said Captain Martin. “I think Captain Dennis has the greatest Great Aunt in all of Carelin.”
Encouraged by those words, Captain Dennis gradually stopped sniffling. Captain Polly dried his tears with his handkerchief that might last have been washed before the pirate started growing his beard. The boys and the pirates became so quiet they could have heard a sewing needle drop.
“My Great Aunt told me—she told me. . .” Captain Dennis stammered. “She told me about—it was—uh—it was. . .” Captain Dennis’ voice quavered and he dissolved into tears once again.
“So much for that idea!” scoffed Captain Flintlock.
“Wait a minute!” Captain Hilary cried out. “We must not give up on Captain Dennis and his Great Aunt so quickly. So, with all due frantic deliberation—as Mr. Schnitzelbergen would say—I ask Captain Dennis to try harder to remember what his Great Aunt said about who might possibly be able to sew a wrecked ship together with the threads of Melanie’s Web.”
“I can’t remember!” Captain Dennis wailed.
“We ain’t got time for crybabies!” said Captain Eagle.
“We don’t have time for insults!” Captain Hilary countered.
Then he stooped back down in front of Captain Dennis.
“Does the name start with an A?” Captain Hilary asked him.
“No—it starts with a G!” Captain Dennis replied. “It’s Garrick—no—Gurr—no—I know! It’s Gertrude!”
“Gertrude Who?” asked Captain Peg.
“I remember now!” Captain Dennis cried triumphantly. One day when I was very sick and could do nothing but listen to my Great Aunt tell me stories, she told me stories about Gertrude the Walrus!”
“And who is Gertrude the Walrus?” asked Captain Geoffrey.
“Did this Great Aunt of yours tell you that Gertrude the Walrus is in the habit of coming along every time a pirate ship gets wrecked just so she can sew the ship back together?” asked Captain Michael.
“And what makes you think a walrus can sew a this here shipwrecked pirate ship back together so that it can sail the sea with the treasure chest from this here treasure island back to Carelin?” asked Captain Flintlock.
Dennis dropped his face to his knees and started to cry.
“I think you cruelly misunderstood what Captain Dennis was saying,” said Captain Polly. “He didn’t say Gertrude the Walrus ever sewed up a pirate ship, he only said he heard stories that got him thinking that maybe Gertrude the Walrus could sew up a pirate ship if she had the chance, and she has that chance right now. So stop crying Captain Dennis because we’re going to listen to what your Great Aunt told you about Gertrude the Walrus whether Captain Eagle and Captain like it or not.”
Captain Polly offered to dry Dennis’ tears with his handkerchief a second time, but he wiped his eyes with his cassock sleeve instead. Then he took a deep breath, and began to tell the story:
“Once upon a time there was a walrus named Gertrude. Even when she was a baby walrus, she liked nothing better than to sew. She sewed seaweed jackets for her brothers and she sewed dresses out of starfish skins for her sisters. When she grew up, she became more ambitious and she looked for other things to sew. When she saw two islands separated by a narrow strait where ships often got wrecked, she pulled the islands together and stitched them with a needle and thread and they’ve been stuck together as one island ever since.”
“What island is that?” asked Captain eagle.
“I don’t know,” Captain Dennis confessed.
“Let him tell the story!” demanded Captain Polly. “The world depends on it!”
“Depends on it,” echoed the parrot.
“Go on,” Captain Hilary urged.
“To make the long story short—“ said Captain Dennis.
“That’s a good idea,” said Captain Flintlock, “keep it short.”
“Gertrude the Walrus got to be real famous for sewing things,” Captain Dennis continued. “It got to the point that many people said she could sew anything that needed sewing. Then one day, Matilda the Anteater buried her snout in an anthill that had a rabbit hole right under it. That would not have been a problem except that Matilda the Anteater was supporting Humphrey the Bullfrog at the time, and Humphrey the Bullfrog was supporting Cornelius the Beetle, and Cornelius the Beetle was supporting Bertha the Elephant, and Bertha the Elephant was supporting Sylvester the Turtle, who was carrying the world on his shell. When Matilda the Anteater lost her balance and fell into the rabbit hole covered by an anthill, Humphrey the Bullfrog and. . .”
“I thought you said you were going to make this story short,” said Captain Flintlock.
“I’m sorry,” said Captain Dennis.
Captain Dennis closed his mouth and stared into the ground as tears formed again in his eyes.
“Please tell us the story, no matter how long it takes,” said Captain Geoffrey.
“If the whole world depends on it,” said Captain Hilary, “and we have nothing else to do but listen to the story, then we’d better listen to the story and stop interrupting Captain Dennis.”
“Better hearing a story than hearing nothing and doing nothing,” said Captain Polly.
“Doing nothing,” chirped the parrot.
Captain Dennis swallowed hard, sniffled a bit, and continued:
“That is why, when Matilda the Anteater fell into rabbit hole, the whole world tumbled and broke Sylvester the Turtle’s back. All the mountains fell down and broke and that broke Sylvester’s back even more. Then everybody had a meeting to talk about how to put the world back together again. At this meeting, everybody said that Gertrude the Walrus could sew up Sylvester’s back. Everybody thought that was a good idea so they asked Gertrude the Walrus to do that. She was so pleased to be asked to do a sewing job that she sewed up Sylvester’s back so that it was strong enough to put the world back on top of it.”
“I’ll bet Sylvester the Turtle loved Gertrude the Walrus for that,” said Captain Polly.
“My great aunt said that Sylvester the Turtle complained for eight million years about having the world put back on top of his shell,” said Captain Dennis.
“What about that anteater who fell into the rabbit hole?” asked Captain Martin.
“That was still a problem because Matilda the Anteater never did get out of the rabbit hole,” Captain Dennis replied. “Since there still wasn’t anybody to hold up Humphrey the Bullfrog, and William the Hummingbird still needed somebody to support, Bertha the Elephant asked Gertrude the Walrus if she would do that. Gertrude the Walrus was willing to do anything that would help keep the world on its feet, but she knew that if she took on the job of holding up Humphrey the Bullfrog and letting William the Hummingbird hold her up, she wouldn’t have a chance to do any sewing for millions of years and she would miss doing that. That is the great sacrifice Gertrude the Walrus made on behalf of the world. As far as anybody knows, it has been millions of years since anybody has asked Gertrude the Walrus to do a sewing job and she has probably given up ever being remembered by anybody and being asked to do one.”
“Are you suggesting that if Gertrude the Walrus can sew up our pirate ship?” asked Captain Polly.
“Yes,” said Captain Dennis.
“Of course she could,” said Captain Geoffrey. “Any walrus who can sew two islands together can sew up a pirate ship.”
“And are you saying that Gertrude the Walrus would welcome the chance to sew again after not having a chance to sew anything for all these millions of years?” asked Captain Hilary.
“Yes,” Captain Dennis answered.
“And how do we ask this walrus to come and sew our ship together?” asked Captain Peg.
“My great aunt said that if you whistle for her, she’ll come, if you have a sewing job only she can do,” Captain Dennis replied.
“Will you please whistle for her?” asked Captain Hilary.
Captain Dennis hung his head and tears started to form in his eyes.
“I get the idea that Captain Dennis can’t whistle,” said Captain Polly.
“I can!” cried Captain Martin, springing to his feet.
“Then please whistle for Gertrude the Walrus,” said Captain Hilary.
Captain Michael stood up on the highest rock he could find and let out a whistle through his teeth so piercing that his mates all covered their ears. All eyes were fixed on the water where it was hoped that the head of the walrus would break through at any minute. Nothing happened. The tide swept in and curled about the rocks, then receded to gather strength for the next thrust at the shore.
“Something’s flying in!” Captain Geoffrey suddenly announced. “I think it’s a blimp!”
“It’s a giant bomb!” cried Captain Joel.
“It’s a flying squid!” cried Captain Eagle.
Several of the boys and pirates squirmed about in a fruitless search for cover as a large shadow with no more shape than a giant blob appeared above them.
“It must be Gertrude the Walrus or it wouldn’t have come when I whistled,” Captain Martin insisted, resolutely standing on the rock where he whistled for her.
The bulky flying creature landed on the rocks with a soft plop and turned its head towards the pirates and the boys, revealing two gleaming tusks that caught the light from Captain Patch’s eye socket.
“Thank you, Captain Martin for whistling for me,” said the walrus in a grandmotherly voice, “and thank you Captain Dennis for remembering the stories told about me by your Great Aunt, and thank your Great Aunt for remembering the stories and telling them to you. I was beginning to fear that nobody would remember me and that everybody would forget me so that not only would I be denied my favorite pastime of sewing things together, but that all creatures who needed to have a sewing job that only I can do would be denied my services to the detriment of everybody. It would have been so much nicer for me if Matilda the Anteater hadn’t fallen into that rabbit hole, but she did and somebody had to take her place.”
“We thank you for coming,” said Captain Hilary, “and I apologize for anyone who thought you were a blimp, a giant bomb, a flying squid, or any other thing that isn’t Gertrude the Walrus.”
“I accept your gracious apology,” said the walrus. “I see that every shirt worn among you needs mending and most of your breeches as well, but even a one-fingered pirate with a broken finger can do those jobs, so that cannot be why you called me, else I would not have come. The treasure chest I see before is obviously closed so tightly that there is no need for me to sew it shut for you. As I flew in, however, I noticed a pirate ship just off the shore that appears to have suffered an unfortunate accident. I assume, then, that this pirate ship needs to be sewn back together. Is that right?”
“That is most true,” said Captain Hilary. “As deputy head chorister of the Carelin Boys Choir, I respectfully ask you, Gertrude the Walrus, to sew the ship back together so that we can sail the ship back to Carelin. We need to take the treasure chest back in the hope that Thomas the Blacksmith can open it and let out our Chief Captain Karen and fellow choristers Nigel and Edmund who, we hope, will have found the light which, as you can see, has been taken away from us.”
“Do you have a needle and thread handy or must I search all the oceans and continents in the dark for them?” asked Gertrude the Walrus.
“We’ve got this thread from Melanie’s Web sticking out of the treasure chest,” said Captain Geoffrey, “and there is another thread from Melanie’s Web hanging from the mast of the ship.
“And I’ve got this needle that I stole from the Queen of Bellematin on her fortieth wedding anniversary,” said Captain Polly as he took a sewing needle out of his hip pocket and held it up.
“That is most excellent,” said Gertrude the Walrus. “With two threads from Melanie’s web and the Queen of Bellematin’s anniversary needle to work with, this will be the greatest sewing job of my career.”
“I don’t want to throw a possum’s screwdriver into this,” said Captain Polly, “but since you normally hold up Humphrey the Bullfrog, I thought I’d ask if somebody’s still holding up the world while you do the greatest sewing job of your career, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
“I accept the question,” said Gertrude the Walrus. “I think there is nothing to worry about because William the Hummingbird is holding me up. He is such a tough old hummingbird that even when Matilda the Anteater fell into the rabbit hole, William the Hummingbird held his ground and held the world in place. He is the most dependable hummingbird I know.”
“Glad to hear it,” said Captain Polly.
“And besides,” added Gertrude the Walrus, “Cornelius the Beetle and Humphrey the Bullfrog are so strong that they can sustain the extra weight with William the Hummingbird’s help while I do this most important sewing job.”
“I don’t mean to rush you,” said Captain Hilary, “but can you start this most important sewing job now?”
“I think this very instant is the best time to start the job,” Gertrude the Walrus replied. “I will pick up the needle and thread in my flippers and fly over to the ship and start right in.”
The boys and the pirates all cheered as Gertrude the Walrus thrust herself back into the air with a mighty heave. But the cheers turned into the cries of fear when the treasure island tilted and the treasure chest slid into the middle of the island where it lodged itself into a mound of rocks.
“Oh my! Oh my!” exclaimed Gertrude the Walrus. “This is most unbelievable! You won’t believe this when I tell you this, but you will have to believe it anyway. Unbelievable as it seems, I must report to you that Cornelius the Beetle and Humphrey the Bullfrog have both had to hop off on errands of the greatest importance.”
“Is the world is falling apart?” asked Captain Geoffrey as he, like the other boys and pirates, clutched a rock to keep from falling off the island.
“It most certainly is,” Gertrude the Walrus replied, “and that peril makes my job all the more challenging, but the point of a challenge is to do the best one can. It is an awfully good thing that I have two threads from Melanie’s web and a sewing needle from the Queen of Bellematin’s wedding anniversary to work with. I suggest you anchor the treasure chest and yourselves in place while I work. Don’t worry about anything, just hang on for dear life.”
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“Is there a chance we might get somewhere at sometime or other?” Kevin asked, when his patience for journeying in the dark started to grow thin.
“I suppose there is a chance we will get somewhere at sometime or other,” Sylvester the Turtle replied, hardly disguising his weariness, “but not a very good one as far as I can tell. Carrying you and the rest of the world on my back is excruciatingly hard work. To expect me to carry you somewhere on top of carrying you and the whole world is expecting an awful lot.”
“Are you saying I might never get back home and see my sister and my mother again?” Kevin asked in a small voice.
“I am not saying that you will or will not get back home,” said Sylvester. “If you can get home without my having to take you anywhere, then I don’t mind your getting home one tiny bit. Just don’t expect me to break my shell in a million pieces just trying to get you anywhere.”
“But if you don’t get me anywhere,” said Kevin, “then I’ll spend the rest of my life riding your back like this.”
“A-A-AGH! to the fortieth power!” cried Sylvester the Turtle. “I think I’d rather get you somewhere then have to carry you forever. The only problem is finding somewhere when we aren’t anywhere in particular to begin with.”
“I’ll bet a smart turtle like you can find somewhere,” said Kevin,
“Well, it helps to be smart and wise if you want to get somewhere,” Sylvester the Turtle replied.
As Sylvester the Turtle spoke those words, Kevin saw a small point of light piercing the darkness.
“Sylvester! What’s that?” Kevin asked excitedly.
To Kevin’s surprise and dismay, Sylvester bellowed the longest and loudest groan yet.
“What’s the matter?” Kevin asked the turtle.
“You’ll see,” said the longsuffering turtle.
“There you are, my old buddy Sylvester!” cried out a loud grating voice.
“Kevin!” “Kevin!” cried out other familiar voices.
First, Kevin saw a large pair of yellow eyes, then he saw the mouth of a bullfrog almost as large as himself. After that, he made out the faces of Roger, Samantha, and Sheila who were sitting on top of the bullfrog’s back.
“I suggest you hop on to Sylvester the Turtle,” said Humphrey the Bullfrog, “he’s got a much better back for riding on.”
“How am I supposed to hold up the world when Humphrey the bullfrog won’t hold me up and on top of that, he insists on putting his passengers on top of my back?” Sylvester the Turtle cried out. “I guess it doesn't make much difference to you if my shell breaks into six thousand-and-four pieces.”
“Don’t mind him,” said the engineer to Sheila, “he’s always complaining. I bet he’d bellow if I asked him to carry a sewing needle on top of the load he’s got already.”
To prove the engineer’s point, Sylvester bellowed so loudly at the thought that Kevin was afraid he would go deaf. The engineer hopped on to the turtle and then helped the three children on to the turtle’s back. Last of all, Humphrey the Bullfrog jumped on.
“I thought those awful people in the Lost City sacrificed you,” said Kevin to his friends.
“They did,” said Roger matter-of-factly.
“Then how did you get out?”
“We didn’t,” Samantha replied. “We’re still in the Dark Lake.”
“Is that where I am, too?” Kevin asked.
“‘Fraid so,” said the engineer.
“Well, at least I fixed those guys,” said Kevin.
The other children and the engineer looked at each other and then looked at Kevin soberly.
“We were afraid you were the one who did that,” said Roger.
“Did what?” asked Kevin. “How do you know I tore up my drawings and made them disappear?”
Sheila, Samantha and Roger dropped the sopping shreds of the fragmented drawings Humphrey had retrieved in front of Kevin. By the light from Humphrey the Bullfrog’s eyes, Kevin had little trouble recognizing his own work.
“Your drawing looks a lot better for being soaked in the Dark Lake,” said Roger.
“Thanks for the compliment,” said Kevin.
“And look at what else Humphrey the Bullfrog found,” said Roger.
“”What’s this?” asked Kevin
Roger dropped the burning feather into Kevin’s hands. The feather was warm, almost hot, but Kevin found that he could hold it without burning himself. Sylvester let out a groan to end all groans.
“This is too much,” Sylvester complained. “Do you really expect me to carry a phoenix’s feather on top of everything else?”
“A phoenix’s feather is great for writing and drawing,” Samantha explained. “That’s what phoenix feathers are for when they aren’t feathers on the phoenix’s body.”
“And they all have golden ink in them,” added Roger. “Now you can draw the best Lost City in the world, Kevin!”
“I'm not going to draw that Lost City, after what they did to you,” said Kevin. “Who wants a city full of people who throw people into the Dark Lake?”
“Master Kevin the Illuminator,” said the engineer, “you are jumping to conclusions.”
“What other conclusion is there?” Kevin retorted.
“Master Kevin the Illuminator,” boomed Humphrey the Bullfrog, “I went to an infinite amount of trouble and caused an even more infinite amount of confusion to the universe to bring these scraps and that feather to you so that you could have a second chance to finish drawing the Lost City. I do not want my effort to go for nothing.”
“I didn’t ask you to dive after this trash,” said Kevin.
“Kevin,” said Sheila, “I want to go home. You’re the one who got me into this mess and you had better get me out of it. If I don’t see my parents again because of you, I’ll never forgive you.”
“Do you expect me to forgive that city?” asked Kevin.
“You know,” said Roger, “maybe being a Lost City isn’t so great.”
“I don't think I'd like it if my city was lost,” added Samantha.
“And you know,” said Roger, “being torn up and thrown away isn't any fun, either.”
“Maybe the Lost City won't be so bad if it isn't so lost any more,” said Samantha.
“Come on, Kevin,” said the engineer, “be a good mapmaker and illuminator like I know you are,” the engineer urged him.
Kevin laid out the pieces of parchment that Humphrey the Bullfrog had brought to him and looked over the fragments. Before he knew it, ideas for how to fill out the designs of half-finished buildings flooded his brain and his warm quill moved along the parchment, leaving gold lines and curves in its wake.
“I knew we could count on you, Kevin” said Roger.
“So did I,” said Samantha.
“There’s nothing like adding the weight of more golden ink on top of everything else in the world,” Sylvester the Turtle complained, “and that on the very day that Gertrude the Walrus gives me the slip along with Cornelius the Beetle and Bertha the Elephant, and also on the very day that Humphrey the Bullfrog decides to ride on top of me instead of supporting me. This is not my day. Not my day at all. Don’t blame me if my back breaks into four thousand and twenty-four pieces and we all fall under the Dark Lake and are never seen or heard of ever again. Just don’t blame me.”