11

The next morning, after getting a well-deserved bath and some filling breakfast, Tintin and Juliet met with the man in charge of the outpost. He was a tall man, well into his thirties. He had light brown hair that had been cut in the traditional soldier crew cut. He had a moustache resting on his upper lip, and a curved pipe rested in his mouth. They had been on their way to check on Haddock, who had woken up some time after they had that morning, and they kept on that path as they spoke to him.

"I am Lieutenant Delcourt," He introduced himself, "Welcome to the Afghar Outpost."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. We owe you our lives." Tintin said.

"How have you found our friend?" Juliet asked, very curious about Haddock's condition.

"Yes… he's not in good shape, I'm afraid." Delcourt said, frowning, "He's still suffering the effects of acute dehydration. He's quite delirious." They made their way to the field hospital and he nodded towards the door, "Why don't we pay him a visit?" He pushed the door open and the young pair followed behind him. They could see Haddock sitting on the small cot, holding a glass of water. He was without his blazer jacket and hat, but he still looked comfortable. "Ah, Haddock! You're awake! Good. I have some visitors for you." He stepped to the side and Juliet and Tintin smiled, happy to know that Captain Haddock was doing well.

"Captain." Tintin greeted him.

"Hello!" The captain greeted happily, then he frowned, "I think you've got the wrong room."

Tintin and Juliet shared a confused glance as they went over to him. "…Captain, it's us."

"And who is 'us' exactly?" Haddock asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Tintin and Juliet." Juliet gestured to the boy and herself, "Our plane crashed in the desert, remember?" She tried to jog his memory.

"Plane?" Haddock's eyes widened at the mention and he shook his head, "No, no. I'm a naval man myself. I never fly if I can help it." He looked over at Lieutenant Delcourt, who had moved to the side of the bed opposite Tintin and Juliet, "They've probably got me confused with someone else."

"Hmm." The lieutenant replied.

Haddock held up the glass of water to him, "What is this peculiar liquid? There's no bouquet, it's completely transparent."

"Why, it's water!" The lieutenant said.

Haddock's eyes widened as he gazed at the glass, "What will they think of next?" Snowy, having just about had enough of this nonsense, ran off from the bed to another part of the hospital.

"We suspect he has a concussion," The lieutenant began, "Heatstroke, delirium." Snowy found a small pitcher of surgical spirits. Remembering what had happened with the captain on the plane, he picked it up in his mouth and went back to the cot, putting it down on the table beside his cot.

"He's sober." Tintin reached for the captain's glass and put it down on the small table, "Now, Captain, out in the desert…"

"Desert?" Haddock repeated in confusion.

"Yes, you were talking about Sir Francis." Tintin found a nearby chair and pulled it up so he could sit down, looking directly at the captain while Juliet took a seat on the nearest cot.

"Sir who?" Haddock was still confused.

"Sir Francis!" Tintin repeated. The captain put a hand to his bearded chin, rubbing at it thoughtfully as he tried to figure out what Tintin was telling him.

"He's your ancestor." Juliet chimed in, trying to help jog his memory, "And you were telling us about what happened to him on the Unicorn."

"The unicorn!" The captain exclaimed.

"Yes!" Tintin said, smiling hopefully. Had he finally remembered something?

The captain smiled, "Ah, the stuff that dreams are made of. Wee children's dreams."

Tintin's hope started to slowly die, "No, the ship! Oh, please try to remember, Captain. Lives are at risk." He urged.

"Ours, specifically." Juliet muttered. Tintin shushed her and she closed her mouth.

The captain shook his head, and he made to reach for his glass of water. Snowy bit down on the tray that the glass rested on so that Haddock's hand would reach for the spirits instead. Tintin saw this and his eyes widened as he saw Haddock gulping down the drink. "Snowy, what have you done?!"

"Ahh…" Haddock sighed after he had finished his drink. He gasped suddenly and Tintin and Juliet stood up from their seats.

"I'd stand back if I were you." Juliet said professionally as Haddock started to groan, his face turning red. His voice got louder and he grasped at his throat while everyone started to edge away from him with wide eyes. He started to shout as he started to push himself up.

"He's snapped!" Tintin exclaimed, "Everybody out of the room!" He waved everyone out, pushing Juliet in front of him. Snowy had been following along, but as Haddock's groans turned into roars, he whimpered and stopped out of fear, his tail tucked in between his legs. "Snowy!" Tintin ran back for his dog, scooping him up and cradling him as he ran out of the room.

"He's insane!" Delcourt said as he saw Haddock standing on his bed. Tintin moved out of the room into what must have been someone's office and closed the door just has Haddock jumped off the bed.

The closed door didn't do much good, as Haddock soon burst through it, splintering the wood of the door, much to everyone's surprise. With an angry roar he grabbed at the shoulders of two nurses and pushed them out of his way. He went over to a nearby soldier, taking the rapier from its place at his hip and holding it aloft, swinging it menacingly back and forth.

"Show yourself, Red Rackham!" He shouted as the blade knocked against a lantern, knocking it down. He swung the blade around as he turned and started to climb up onto the office desk, "If it's a fight you want, you've met your match!"

"A fight with who?!" Tintin shouted, trying to communicate with the man. He had apparently become engrossed in the story of the Unicorn, like he had in the desert.

Haddock pointed his sword out at the space in front of him, glaring at it. "To the death, Red Rackham!" He swung the blade about as the lieutenant shouted for help, saying one of the patients had gone mad. Haddock's blade moved with an impressive flurry, having a swordfight with an invisible man. He backed up and hit the desk, falling onto his back just as the ceiling fan above broke and fell down on top of him. The soldiers all ran into the room, pointing their guns at the captain as he toppled down from the desk with the ceiling fan still against his body.

"No, wait!" Tintin shouted at the soldiers, stepping in front of the captain, telling them not to shoot. They all surrounded him as he seemed to calm down, the barrels of their guns all pointed towards him as Tintin and Juliet moved in front of him. "Wait. Captain…" Tintin waved the guns away as Juliet put her hand on the captain's shoulder.

"What is it?" Juliet asked, keeping her voice soft so that it would help to calm him down.

"I remember everything now." Haddock said softly, a smile coming onto his face, "Everything Granddaddy told me. The Unicorn was taken. And the pirates were now masters of the ship."

"The crew surrendered?" Tintin asked.

Haddock reached out, grabbing Tintin's shoulder, "Granddaddy said that Red Rackham called Sir Francis the King's dog, a pirate hunter sent to reclaim their hard-won plunder."

"Who is Red Rackham?" Tintin asked in confusion.

"Wait, I know that name." Juliet said, getting his attention, "Red Rackham was a famous pirate during the seventeenth century. We had an exhibit on him in my father's museum. They said he stole more ships than most pirates would dare to even think of."

"Sir Francis said that he would sooner die than give up their cargo to him." Haddock continued, "But Red Rackham told him that he would die last, after all his men." He started to push himself to stand up, "To save his men… he would give up the secret cargo." He looked around the office, still lost in the story he was telling.

"And where was it?" Tintin asked.

Haddock went over to the bookshelf and pulled on the spine of one of the books, making it tip back, "…It was hidden in his quarters… the door opened with a switch from the bookcase. Four hundredweight of gold, jewels, and treasure. After he showed Rackham the treasure, he told the pirates to kill his men, going against his word." He moved away from the bookshelf, walking back to the desk, "Sir Francis knew he was doomed, that he'd be hung from the highest yardarm." He moved around behind it, Tintin and Juliet on the other side, completely enthralled in his tale, "But they didn't reckon on one thing!" Haddock smiled at them, "Sir Francis was a Haddock! And a Haddock always has a trick up his sleeve." He reached for a nearby quill, picking it up, "In his hat was a knife, as light as a feather. He used it to cut through the ropes they bound him in and escape. And with that, he hurls himself forward!"

"On the pirates? Like that? Unarmed?" Tintin asked in amazement, if it was true Sir Francis was either very brave, or not very bright.

Haddock shook his head, "No! No, on a bottle of rum rolling on the deck." He reached for a bottle of said drink that was resting on the desk and picked it up, "And he opens it up," He popped the cork off, and the soldiers all pointed their guns at him again, fearful that he might go into another rampage, but they didn't shoot, "And puts it to his lips, and…"

"And then he stops." Juliet said quickly, reaching for the bottle before Haddock could take a drink, ""This is no time for drinking," he says, "I'll need all my wits about me." With that, he puts the bottle down." She forced him to put the bottle back on the desk and the soldiers relaxed a little bit.

"Yes, yes, he puts the bottle down." Haddock agrees, looking a little disgruntled at being denied his liquor, "And… And he seizes a cutlass!" He grabbed a sword from another man and the guns were raised again. "And then he makes his way to the ship's magazine, where they keep all the gunpowder, and the shot. He takes a barrel of the stuff," Miming a barrel in his hands, he walks around the desk, bent over, "And he makes a trail leading up to the top deck. And just before he has a chance to blow the ship to smithereens, Red Rackham appears and tries to stop him. And there's a furious swordfight!" Haddock waves the blade around and the soldiers point their guns at him, while also trying to avoid getting cut by the sword.

"Gentlemen, I think it's best if you step outside for a moment— Ah!" She ducked down to avoid the blade. The soldiers don't need to be told twice as Haddock starts advancing on Tintin, his mind still lost in his grandfather's story. Once Juliet had gotten all of the soldiers out of the room, Haddock had calmed down, thinking over something that had happened. The men still waited on the other side of the door, waiting to see if Haddock still needed to have a bullet put somewhere on him.

Tintin was holding on to the leg of the desk, looking up at Captain Haddock with wide eyes as he stilled the blade in his hands. He looked down at Tintin, "You…"

"Captain, what is it?" Tintin asked, remaining still in case Haddock decided to continue the swordfight.

Haddock moved the sword down and he looked around the room, lost in thought as he talked to himself, "How could I be so blind?"

"What are you talking about?" Tintin asked, pushing himself up now that the captain had calmed down. Juliet stepped further into the room, curious to hear what Haddock meant as well.

"This isn't just about the scrolls… or the treasure that went down with the ship." Haddock murmured, starting to slowly pace through the room, "It's me. It's me he's after… He wants vengeance." He turned around looking at the two kids as he let the sword fall from his hands, "Hurry, kids." He walked up to them, grabbing them both by the shoulder.

"What?" Tintin asked confusedly.

"We're out of time." Haddock said hurriedly as he pushed them towards the window on the other side of the office.

"Captain?" Juliet asked worriedly.

Captain Haddock pushed them both out the window of the office. They both let out a cry, thankful to be landing in a pile of hay than on the ground, Haddock jumping down after them. Once the hay had finished falling around them, Haddock pushed himself up into a more comfortable position in the pile.

"It's not over. It was never over!" He said.

"I don't understand. Who's after your blood?" Tintin asked.

"Sakharine." Haddock growled out.

"Sakharine? Why?" Tintin asked.

"He's Red Rackham's descendant!" Haddock said, "He needs to finish it!"

Tintin's eyes widened in realization, "That's why he did it…" He murmured.

"What?" Juliet asked, now confused by both ends of the story.

"Sank his own ship." Tintin specified, "Sir Francis sent that treasure to the bottom of the sea." He looked at Haddock, trying to keep him engrossed in the story mindset, "He would be damned before he let Red Rackham have it."

"And he was." Haddock said.

"But he couldn't let it lie." Tintin said.

"No." Haddock agreed.

"He left a clue." Tintin continued excitedly, the gears turning and clinking in his mind, "Three clues wrapped in a riddle concealing a secret, but only a true Haddock would be able to solve it." He reached out, squeezing Haddock's shoulder.

"What secret?" Haddock asked.

"The location," Tintin's grin grew wider, "To one of the greatest sunken treasures in all history."

"The wreck of the Unicorn?" Juliet asked as she realized what was going on. Tintin looked to her and nodded.

"He means to steal it." Haddock said softly, his drunken mind slowly figuring out what Sakharine's plans were, "The third scroll." His face twisted to one of anger as he cursed, "Billions of blue blistering barnacles, I swear," He slammed his fist down on the side of the cart that contained the hay they all sat in, "As the last of the Haddocks, I'll find that treasure before him!"

"To Bagghar." Tintin held out his hand to the Captain.

Captain Haddock spat in his palm before meeting it with Tintin's, "To Bagghar!" He agreed heartily as they shook on it.


"Thank you again for this map, Lieutenant." Tintin said as he and Lieutenant Delcourt stepped out of his office, rolling up the map in his hands.

"My pleasure, Tintin." The man replied, he looked over at where Haddock was trying and failing, to mount one of the camels, which was still standing, they had given to them to travel, as the port of Bagghar was a good trip away and cars don't exactly run well in sand. "And don't take this the wrong way, but could you make sure you don't come back? The camels are yours to do with as you please."

Tintin grinned, "I understand, Lieutenant. If we ever do happen to find ourselves at your outpost again, however, I'll make sure Haddock is a bit more polite." He held out his hand to the man, and he shook it.

"Thank you." He reached up and patted Tintin's shoulder, "Have a safe trip, then!"

"Thank you, sir." Tintin said as he made his way over to the camels, checking to make sure that all the supplies they would need for this journey were attached and within arms-reach.

"The tall one is mine!" A voice hollered from behind him as he saw Juliet walking over to them. She bumped her hip against Tintin, making him stumble to the side as she went up to the camel, "I've already claimed it." She smirked at him as she reached up, petting the camel's neck as it drank from the outpost water reserves.

"You can't claim a camel ahead of the trip." Tintin replied, "And I never said that I wanted this one anyway."

"Good, because it's mine." Juliet said. Tintin sighed, shaking his head.

"Very well, this is the one you're riding." He said. "What difference does it make?"

"I'm a possessive person and I like to make sure what I claim stays mine." Juliet said.

"Yes, alright…" Tintin said with a sigh as he went over to the last remaining camel, "That's rather childish of you, you know."

Juliet scoffed, "Well, there's no point to being mature if you can't act like a child sometimes."

Tintin rolled his eyes, although she couldn't see it. He turned around to see her adding a small rolled up piece of linen to the load on its back, which he recognized as her torn skirt. She was still wearing the same trousers as everyone else at the outpost, and her hair had once again been pulled back into a braid. His eyes trailed over her arm, where he could see some gauze wrapped around the cut that she had gotten from the plane wreck. He remembered how scared she had been in that plane ride, and he couldn't entirely blame her, but then there was also how she needed time to calm herself after their escape from the Karaboudjan. He looked up at the camels, knowing that their oncoming journey was going to be a long one, and getting the third scroll wasn't going to be easy.

"Juliet," She turned around to face him with a smile, but as she looked at Tintin's concerned expression, it slowly fell, "Perhaps it's best if you stay here."

"Excuse me?" She asked in surprise.

"I'm sure the men here could find a way home for you." Tintin said, "You could go back to Brussels, go home, leave this entire mess behind you."

"And what makes you think I want to do that?" Juliet asked, planting her hands on her hips as she looked at him.

"Well… It's just…" He nodded towards her arm, "I have a feeling this won't be an easy task, and I thought that… you might want to return home. After all, it's been a long trip and you haven't exactly come out unscathed."

"And I haven't exactly come out completely broken either." Juliet replied, "I'm coming with you, Tintin. There's no way I'm going to miss out on an adventure like this, after all that we've been through!" The camel lifted its head up, telling her that it was done drinking and she tugged on the reigns as the soldiers had instructed her to do and the camel knelt down. Before she had a chance to mount the creature, Tintin reached out, purposefully putting his hand over the cut on her arm and pulling her back, "Ow! What are you…?"

"You're injured." Tintin said pointedly, "And if you come with us, there's a chance that could happen again. Maybe even worse than this."

"That same chance applies to you, too, you know." Juliet said, reaching up to pull Tintin's hand off of her arm. She still hung onto it as she looked up at him, "I appreciate what you're doing, Tintin. I do, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." She grinned at him, "And take care of you, if need be."

"You've already gotten hurt because you came with us." Tintin said, "You could have stayed home."

"Yes, I could have." Juliet replied, "But I didn't. I followed my gut and came after you, and I haven't regretted a single moment of it so far, don't make me start regretting it now."

Tintin sighed, "You're just as stubborn as you are pretty…" He muttered under his breath. Juliet quirked her head to the side curiously, not sure of what he had said, "Fine. But I expect you to take care of yourself like you said."

"Of course." She smiled at him.

"And stay out of harm's way."

"I will if you will."

"And don't start any trouble with Sakharine."

"Now that I can't promise."

"Juliet…"

"Oh, just go with it, Tintin."

He was quiet for a moment, before he nodded, "Very well."

Juliet's smile grew. "Wonderful."

They both glanced down at the same time, and their faces both flushed when they saw that their hands were still joined. Juliet released it and hid her hands behind her back, letting out an awkward laugh. "Ha, ha… Sorry."

"Uh, it's fine." Tintin said. The other camel lifted its head up from the reserves and Tintin tugged on the reigns, getting it to kneel down as Juliet mounted her camel.

"Up!" She commanded, and the camel moved to stand.

Tintin called for Snowy, who came running over to his master and he put him in his lap where he would be comfortable on their trip. Then he mounted the camel himself and they both went over to where Haddock was getting help in mounting the camel from the soldiers. Once he was upright and balanced, they left the outpost, bidding their goodbyes to those they had met and made friends with as they started to make their way through the Sahara desert to the port of Bagghar.


"I'll sing you a song, a good song of the sea."

"Way, hey, blow the man down."

"I trust that you'll join in the chorus with me."

"Give me some time to blow the man down."

Tintin glanced back at Haddock, who had insisted on teaching an unwilling Juliet his favorite sea shanty. He couldn't ask Tintin because he was the navigator for their journey, and he wouldn't want to interrupt something that important. At first, Juliet had just given plain and simple dismissals, but it slowly turned into an argument between them, then it turned into an all-out shouting match which Tintin eventually quieted, telling them to save their energy for something more important. He told Juliet it wouldn't kill her to learn a new song, since she had nothing better to do while they were on this voyage, and she gave in. He had been teaching her the lyrics for the past half hour. Tintin knew that their destination wasn't too far away, so it would be over soon. It was for the best, the song was starting to get stuck in his head. Haddock was singing the first half of the lines while Juliet sang the chorus, which sounded very monotone and unpleasing to the ears since she was determined to show the captain it was a bad idea. It didn't really work, since the captain himself had a terrible singing voice.

"I'm a deep water sailor just come from Hong Kong."

"To me way, hey, blow the man down."

"If you'll give me some whiskey, I'll sing you a song."

"…If I give you some whiskey, you'll do a lot more than that." Juliet muttered. Tintin couldn't help the little snicker that came out of him.

The ground beneath them had long since changed from sand to soil as they neared the port. The outpost, as it turns out, had been on the very edge of the Sahara, and after only ten minutes of travelling, they were on solid ground. Well, as solid as the ground could be when it was so close to the largest desert in the world. He was thankful for the change of scenery after seeing nothing but miles of sand yesterday. He was also glad that they were getting so close to their goal. According to the map, if they just traversed over the hill they were currently climbing, Bagghar should be on the other side.

"Ah, come on, lass! Sing the line!" Haddock snapped, choosing to ignore what she had said about the whiskey.

"Give me some time to blow the man down." She rolled her eyes.

"'Lay aft' is the cry, 'to the break of the poop.'"

"To me way, hey, blow the man down."

"Or I'll help you along with the toe of my boot."

"Give me some time to blow the man down." She sighed, "Captain, I've had just about enough of this. May we stop now?"

"Oh, but we haven't even gotten to the best part!" Haddock said with a childish whine.

"If you sing again, I'm not going to." Juliet said with a tone of finality, "My throat feels a tad dry." She reached down on her saddle, picking up the canteen that held her supply of water, twisting the cap open and taking a few sips from it.

"Bah, fine." Captain Haddock scoffed, waving his hand at her in dismissal. He slumped on his seat as they moved over the earthy ground.

They reached the top of the hill, and they could see the sultanate of Bagghar stretched out before them. The city lied in between the two mountains, encasing it like a bowl that tipped out into the Atlantic Ocean. At the highest part of the town rested a beautiful palace where the sheik undoubtedly lived. The town had buildings that were crowded together all along the hillside, as if they had all been pushed down from the mountain where the palace rested. The sun was high in the sky as Tintin looked out over the port, seeing a familiar ship waiting in its waters.

"He's here." He said. Haddock and Juliet looked out into the port, seeing the Karaboudjan. They both frowned. Sakharine had gotten there ahead of them, meaning he had a head start on getting to the third scroll.


Sorry about the lateness. I hope you like it!