Isle of Swords (49 page)

“Where's the other nail?” he yelled.

“There,” Ross said. He pointed. Cat saw it half-buried in the debris of a broken pew. He grabbed the third nail and put it in his pocket as well. He took the gold tiers to the edge of one of the vaults and held half on the edge as he pushed down on the other half. The gold bent easily against the pressure, giving Cat a U-shaped piece of metal with a hole on the top and the bottom.

“Please, let this work,” he said. He found a piece of broken stone from one of the crushed treasure vaults. He grabbed one end of the rope, took out a nail, and aimed it in the center of the thick rope, far above its cut end. He slammed the stone down like a hammer and pierced the rope through. He yanked out the nail and did the same to one of the other pieces of rope.
One last step
, he thought.

He lined up the holes in the two pieces of rope with the guide holes in one of the bent pieces of gold, and hammered the nail through them all. Then he slammed the rock-hammer down on the end of the nail until it bent at a right angle. He gave a yank on the two rope ends, and it held.

With Anne's help, he repeated the process twice more. At last, they had the rope reattached and at its longest possible reach. Cat ran with the basket to the window and slowly lowered it down.

The roof partially caved in. Anne shrieked. The fire spread across the floor. “Help me, Cat!” she screamed. “My father!”

Cat let the basket fall the rest of the way, not sure if it reached the
Bruce
or not. He helped Anne move Declan closer to the window, but the fire threatened to hem them in. Cat ran to the window and looked down. There was someone on the deck waving what looked like a flag. Cat hoisted up the long rope and found the old banner of the
William Wallace
, Ross's beloved claymore and prowling wolf.

“It's long enough!” Cat yelled. “It reaches the ship!” Cat touched the flag and smiled.

They carefully eased Declan Ross into the basket, but before they lowered him down, Cat ran up onto the altar. He wasn't sure why he did it, but he grabbed the leather book that lay next to the wooden chest. Its cover was singed, but it looked mostly intact. He laid the volume on Declan's chest and crossed the captain's arms over the book.

Ever so slowly, they lowered Declan Ross back to his ship.

“You're next,” he said to Anne. She might have once argued, but not now. She knew that Cat could climb the ropes better than she could. She would ride in the basket.

Cat held the basket tight near the window so that Anne could get in. “Ready?” he asked.

“Not yet,” she said. And shocking him completely, Anne leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Not bad for a pirate,” she said with a wink. Cat almost let go of the rope, but caught it just in time.

He winked back and lowered her down.

Once she was on the deck, Cat took a deep breath and began to slide over the side. “Wait!” came a voice from behind. From behind one of the columns walked a pale figure with wild, somewhat-singed hair.

“Jacques!” Cat yelled, and ran to the Frenchman.

“Oui,” he said, falling into Cat's arms. “But I am not well.”

Cat pulled up the rope one last time. His arms burned as he lowered Jacques down to the deck. Then, with the roof caving in behind him, Cat climbed over the side, grabbed the rope, and began his descent. Cat slid down the rope a few yards and ducked as small pieces of debris came hurtling down. He waited a few beats and continued down the rope. His arms ached, and each time the rope blew across the rockface, he had to brace himself to keep from slamming into the cliff. He passed the first nail joint, and then the second. He reached the third and stopped.

He looked at the nail joining the two pieces of rope. If it had not been for this nail and the other two, Cat knew he, Anne, and Captain Ross all would have died in the fires raging above. The rope, joined with these long nails, was a lifeline. But it was more than that. Cat thought about how the three nails had once been used for a completely different purpose.

Cat climbed back above the third nail-joint and wrapped his right arm in the rope. He began tugging on the nail-joint. He yanked at it with his left hand. Then he shoved it between his knees and tried to use his entire torso to separate the joint.

“What is he doing?” Nubby asked. “Is he stuck?”

“I don't know,” said Anne. “Ramiro, keep the ship steady.”

“I'm trying, young miss. I'm trying. But the wind might have something to say about it.”

They watched Cat struggling on the rope. Then, to their horror, the entire rope fell. Cat plummeted toward the deck of the ship.

Anne closed her eyes. They heard a splash. Ramiro, Nubby, and Anne flew to the rail.

“Is someone going to help me up?” Cat asked. He floated in the midst of what looked like a mile of swirling rope.

48
THE SECOND MUTINY

S
tede was now aboard the
Raven
, and they had sailed with all speed away from the shards. Thorne had given Stede plenty of work to do on deck. “Fix the jib sail! Tack that rope down! Fix the rail on the quarterdeck!” But Thorne hadn't once let Stede out of his sight. Stede had heard the
Raven
's quartermaster, Skellick, calling out distances. They were now just a dozen miles from the crosscurrents and the maelstrom of waves and sucking chasms.
When we b' getting to those outrageous waves
, Stede thought bitterly,
I b' fixing this ship, all right.

Red Eye, who was on board one of Thorne's galleons, and Jules, who was on a two-masted sloop, had the same idea.

After carefully navigating back through the shards, Ramiro called out to his now-skeleton crew, “Ease back on the sails, lads! There's no rush!”

“Go after them!” a wheezing, throaty voice commanded from below. Declan Ross had somehow made it to the stairs. He leaned on the rail and knelt on the top step. Nubby came charging over to him with Anne at his heels.

“What are ya doin'?” Nubby chastised. “This isn't a wee scratch!

You've got to stay in yer bed!”

“Da, listen to Nubby! You're not well.”

Cat, Anne, and Nubby helped Declan to a bench by the helm.

“I said, go after them!” Ross exclaimed, his head rocking gently.

“Who?” Ramiro asked. “Bartholomew Thorne?”

Ross nodded.

“He's gone mad,” Nubby said.

“Go after the
Raven
!” Ross muttered. “Treasure.”

“Who cares about the treasure?” Ramiro bellowed. “We've got a skeleton crew. He's got a dozen ships or more!”

“It's still my ship,” Ross said. “I'm ordering you to go after Thorne.”

“Ah, now there's where you're mistaken,” Ramiro said. “You let me win the duel, and I said you could use the ship, not keep it. You have to pay me if—”

Ross reached into his pocket and let a handful of green diamonds spill out onto the deck. “That ought to be enough.”

“Biscuits and gravy!” exclaimed Nubby. “Is that part . . . is that . . . ?”

Ross nodded. “Now that the ship is mine, I command you to chase Thorne.”

An ominous rumble came from the volcano a mile behind them.

The mantle of smoke and ash had spread far and wide, and they couldn't see the end of it.

Ramiro bent down to pick up the diamonds. “Look here, Ross,” he said. “I accept your bid for the ship, but I'm a sailor and a shipbuilder.

I can sail, and I can fish. But I can't fight a pirate like Thorne.”

“I'll tell you what to do,” Ross said, wincing and closing his eyes.

“But, Da!” Anne was at his side.

“NO!” Everyone turned and looked at Cat. “Declan Ross, you will do no such thing. You are injured, sir, and therefore unfit for command. As the senior member of your crew, I hereby relieve you of duty.”

Declan's face became a mask of anger. “Cat, you . . .”

“You are relieved, sir,” Cat said. “Now, with all due respect, please leave me to my command. Bartholomew Thorne is far ahead of us. I'll need to concentrate if we're going to catch him.”

Ross struggled to understand for a moment. Then he grinned wildly. “That's a man, Cat. That's a man!”

Ross closed his eyes, muttering something about “a surprise for ol' Bart.”

Anne looked at Cat. “What does he mean by—”

Suddenly, a flash lit the sky and the looming clouds above. A thunderous blast from behind made them all jump and then look off the stern. The entire top third of the volcano blasted into the air and disintegrated. A massive, angry red inferno rose up as the Isle of Swords was consumed. Pieces of debris began to fall all around the man-of-war. One burning hunk went right through the top deck.

“Nubby,” Cat shouted. “See to it that doesn't start a fire in the powder kegs.”

Nubby's eyes went as big as eggs, and he charged down the steps.

Cat squinted off the stern. The ocean behind them looked strange. The others looked too. It was as if the Isle of Swords was sinking. No, not sinking. The ocean was rising.

“Ramiro,” Cat said nervously, “would you be so kind as to man the swinging bowsprit, on course due south. I think we are about to make up a little time.”