*THUMP THUMP THUMP*

"I'll get it." I sigh as I get out of my chair and walk to the door. "Why! Captain! You look...awful..."

"Awful! Awful! Well why don't you take a look at this!" He shoves a newspapers towards me, Tintin gets up to read with me, worry masking his face.

Red Rackham's Treasure

The forthcoming departure of the trawler Sirius is arousing speculation in sea-faring circles. Despite the close secrecy which is being maintained, our correspondent understands that the object of the voyage is nothing less than a search for treasure.

This treasure, once the hoard of pirate Red Rackham, lies in the ship 'Unicorn', suck at the end of the seventeenth century. Tintin, the famous reporter-whose sensational intervention in the Bird case made headline news-and his friend, Captain Haddock and potential new lover Valentine, have discovered the exact resting-place of the 'Unicorn'.

"Journalists! They're always the same! We could have done without all this publicity..." growls Haddock, pacing back and forth as we study the article once more.

Suddenly the door bell goes, and Tintin answers it. A man in a trench coat, gloves, glasses and a hat stands on the other side of the door. He was tall, and a little intimidating. "Mr Tintin?..." He asks.

"Yes."

"Mr Tintin. I see from this morning's paper that you are going to try and find Red Rackham's treasure. Is that so?"

"Yes, it is. But-"

That man interrupts. "Good. In that case, I shall accompany you!...As for the treasure, I shall be satisfied with half share...here is my card." He reaches into his coat pocket for his wallet and hands over a small white business card.

Tintin takes one look at it and snaps his head back up, staring at the man in disbelief. I walk over to the two of them. "Is...is that really your name?" I look at the card, and I too, I couldn't believe my eyes.

"So it seems, young man." Replies the visitor. I was so confused. Why hadn't this man come up before? I take the card form Tintin and walk over to Haddock.

"Blistering Barnacles!" He yells, absolutely shocked.

Red Rackham. Red Rackham. No way could this man be him. Rackham...

"But, If I'm not mistaken sir..." I start, trying to make sense of this. "...Your name, you claim to be is 'Red' Rackham, but 'Red' is just a nickname. Therefore, there is no connection between you, and Red Rackham the pirate. You are not who you say you are!"

The man face started to boil, I swear he was going to yell out something completely inappropriate, but the door bell cuts him off.

I open the door to see an army of demanding men, claiming they are Red Rackham's descendant. They start to come in, but I quickly slam the door in their faces, pushing hard against it. They try to shove the door open, and I was slipping, "You are not invited! I'll call the police!" I threat, but that did nothing.

"Leave this to me lassie!" Says the Captain, taking off his coat and rolling up his sleeves. "We'll soon see if there is a real Rackham among that crew!" I step aside, slightly concerned for the well being of the men outside, but they had it coming. The police or the Captain.

I could hear the Captain question the men in front of him, they all went quiet. Suddenly a rumbling of footsteps shook the floor. The Captains voice boomed above it. "Avast! Freshwater Pirates!" And to finish it off, he adds, "And there are your records, fancy-dress freebooters!" I could help but smile. Tintin just looked concerned.

The Captain comes back in, a much more pleasant mood. "There you are. That's got rid of that gang of thieves!" Tintin hands him back his coat before the door bell goes off again.

"Another?" I say, somewhat annoyed.

The Captain turns to the door but Tintin stops him. "Wait, I'll go..."

He opens the door to two clumsy men, with their hats stuck on their heads blinding them. "Is that you Tintin? ... It's us, Thomson and Thompson. Could you give us a hand? ...A wild elephant dropped something on our heads."

I laugh. "Oh you poor fellas, come here and sit. Don't do anything else that could get you in trouble," I order as I guide them each to a chair.

"Thank you very much, Valentine." "Yes, very much."

The door bell goes off another time. "Not again! Please! Not again." I beg. The Captain storms over and swings the door open.

I could hear a man say, "I'd like to speak to Mr Tintin."

"Why?...No doubt your name happens to be Red Rackham?" Speculates the Captain.

"Yes?" The other man questions slowly.

"No, I'm asking you if you're called Red Rackham..."

"Oh?"

"WHAT"S YOUR NAME?" Yells the Captain.

"Please speak a bit louder. I'm a little hard of hearing." He says, almost as if he is embarrassed. I move round to see him.

"YOUR NAME!" shouted the Captain so loud, everybody on the block would have probably heard him.

A little timid man, dress in green looks up at the Captain as he talks. "Gone away? ...What a pity! Never mind. I'll come again. I particularly wanted to speak to Mr Tintin himself..." I look at Tintin, who makes his way to the man.,

"I'm Tintin. What do you want?" He asks angrily.

"Ah, Mr Tintin!...They told me that you were away..." He comes forward into the apartment. "...I'm delighted to meet you. My name is Calculus; Cuthbert Calculus."

"Oh?" Tintin is surprised. And so am I. This man doesn't seem like the others, demanding for 'their' share of the treasure. I gestured to a seat for him.

"No, Calculus, Cuthbert Calculus. Mr Tintin, I understand you are setting off on a search for treasure. That's nice...but have you considered the sharks."

"The sharks?" I frown.

"No, young lady. I'm talking about the sharks. I expect you intend to do some diving. In which case, beware of sharks!" He warns.

"But..." Starts Tintin.

"Don't you agree? But I've invented a machine for underwater exploration, and it's shark proof. If you'll come to my house with me, I'll show it to you."

"I'm very sorry but..." Starts Tintin politely.

"No, it's not far. Less than ten minutes..."

"I'm afraid I'm very busy and I..."

"Why of course! Certainly these gentlemen and this lovely girl may come too!"

"It's no good. There's not time! NO TIME!" Yells Tintin.

"Good, that's settled. We'll go at once."

Calculus then leads the way to his place. I walk beside Tintin, who is furious. "I'm so glad you agreed to come!" Says the delighted green man.

"Please...Don't mention it." Grumbles Tintin.

"No, Calculus, Cuthbert Calculus." He corrects.

I slip my hand in his and squeeze gently. In return, he nearly crushes my hand. I inhale sharply as I feel my bones be crushed together. I grit my teeth.