Onboard Too-Ticky's stolen skiff, Snorkmaiden sat bound hand and foot, feeling miserable and afraid. Never had she felt so frightened in her life. There she was, out in the open sea, held captive by a ruthless pirate and with no hope of rescue. She would never see her friends and family again. Never! Too late, she realised Martin had been right; there was nothing good about meeting a pirate.
"Please take me back," she kept pleading with her captor again and again, "You can't do this to me! And my friends! You can't leave them stranded on that sinking ship. They'll drown!" At the tiller, her kidnapper, Captain Rumpot, gave her a mean smile.
"Forget about your landlubber friends, my precious little beauty!" he chuckled nastily, "You've got a new, better friend now! We'll sail the Seven Seas together, sinking ships and plundering treasure! It'll be so exciting! And you can be my new lieutenant." Snorkmaiden was appalled.
"I'm not a thief!" she shouted, "And I don't sink other people's ships for sport! That's barbaric!"
"We pirates prefer to call it, making our fortune," said Captain Rumpot nastily, obviously proud of all the ships he'd looted and then sent to the bottom during his many years at sea, "Too bad about your friends though," he added, "That boy Park had quite some backbone, standing up to a pirate captain like that! Too bad it won't do him or any of them much good when their bones are being cleansed by the fish!" He burst into a roar of laughter.
Poor Snorkmaiden could take no more. Curling up into a ball, she burst into tears, crying her heart out at the thought of her beloved Moomintroll and all her friends, currently stranded on that sinking ship and in as much trouble as she was...all because of her. Why had she been so stupid as to wonder away from the group when Martin had explicitly said to stick close together? A feeling of utter helplessness and desperation overwhelmed her.
In the distance, the black storm clouds of an incoming storm were beginning to darken the sky...
Back in Moominvalley, oblivious to Snorkmaiden's plight, the Inspector sat in his office, frowning at the report that had been sent to him from the neighbouring district's police department. As he'd feared, that schooner had indeed been reported stolen a few years back, commandeered by a pirate crew that had escaped from prison. Their leader, a shady character by the name of Rumpot, was high on the wanted persons' list, with numerous acts of piracy to his credit.
But what troubled the Inspector most was the urgent message that had arrived with the report, warning of sightings of the same pirate ship in the area and advising all coastal authorities to be on alert. That alert had been sent three days ago. Thankfully, it seemed fate had done them a favour when last night's storm had wrecked the schooner, leaving no survivors. Only minutes ago, he'd received word that the wreck had slipped from the reef with the tide and drifted back out to sea.
Under normal circumstances, the Inspector would have been pleased to close the book on this unpleasant business. A pity they hadn't been able to rescue any of the pirates, to bring them to justice, but at least their reign of terror was over. He knew Moominpapa would be terribly disappointed for losing his chance to salvage that ship and its cargo, but it was probably for the best. But at that moment, there was a loud knock on the door.
"Come in."
Snufkin entered the Inspector's office, looking terribly upset. The Inspector was surprised to see him here; although he knew Snufkin was a good boy, there were times when he'd been forced to summon him here to answer to complaints from his elders, particularly regarding his refusal to follow the rules like other disciplined boys his age. So what was he doing here now?
"Good afternoon, young Snufkin," he said, "To what do I owe this visit? Why aren't you out playing with your friends?"
"I...I think they're in danger, Inspector," stammered Snufkin, looking absolutely terrified. The Inspector frowned. Whatever the trouble was, he didn't like the sound of it one bit. What had those children gotten themselves into this time?
"In danger? What do you mean, in danger?"
"Inspector, they... they're onboard the schooner with Too-Ticky..." The Inspector dropped the report he was reading to the floor.
"What did you say?!"
Out in the open sea, Moomintroll, Martin, Sniff, Little My and Too-Ticky were struggling to keep the drifting schooner from sinking. All of them were tired, sore, not to mention worried out of the wits about Snorkmaiden, but at least they were making progress.
Submerged up to their waists in water down in the bilge, Martin and Moomintroll were hammering the last of the patches they had fashioned out of broken deck planking, sealing up the leaks. Nearby, Sniff and Little My were hard at work, manning the large pump assembly, trying to get all the water out.
"My arms are about to fall off!" panted Sniff, sweating torrents, as she sunk to his knees, "My back is killing me! I can't keep this up any longer!"
"You want to drown?!" snapped Little My incredulously, "Get back to work, lazy bones!" The mention of drowning instantly got Sniff back to work, pumping as fast as he could. At last, the water started going down; the tilting deck righted itself. The patches, although not perfect, seemed to be holding.
Leaving Moomintroll to look for more leaks, Martin joined Too-Ticky in the stern, where she was trying to free the rudder. It seemed a chunk from a collapsed mast had ploughed its way down through the deck, wedging itself against the mechanism and jamming the rudder. Too-Ticky, armed with a saw and an axe, was struggling to cut the broken mast.
Getting on the saw with her, she and Martin put all their strength into it. At last, the saw-blade was through, cutting the mast in half and leaving the rudder mechanism free. At last, they had a ship that could float and they had a working rudder with which to steer a course. Now all they needed was a sail.
Joining Moomintroll and Little My up on deck, they began searching the debris for any sails that could still be used. Alas, most of them were shredded and in pieces, totally useless. Only two of them were still good: one of the jibs that still hang from the bowsprit and the mainsail from the mizenmast, which luckily had been folded up by the pirate crew before the storm hit. That would allow for maybe one third sailing speed. Sluggish, to say the least, but it would have to do.
Moomintroll and Little My climbed up the rigging and cut the ropes that kept the sail folded to the upper spar. The sail unfolded, fluttering like a white tablecloth in the wind; down on deck, Too-Ticky secured it to the lower spar. Up on the bow, Martin and Sniff were preparing to hoist the jib; because the foremast was broken in half – just below the point where the pulley that hoisted the jib was mounted –, Martin had jury-rigged another pulley he'd scavenged from the debris, which he'd tied to the stump of the mast. Pulling together, they hoisted the jib, which fluttered loosely from hanging so low on the mast, but it held together.
At last, the last of the repairs were complete. Now they had something that could be mistaken for a seaworthy ship. All that was left was to find out whether this patched-up wreck could actually sail.
They watched as the sails opened up as they caught the winds; beneath their feet, they felt the ship start to move, no longer adrift. At the helm, Martin turned them round, setting course in the direction where Too-Ticky's skiff had gone.
Consulting his watch, Martin saw they'd lost nearly four hours with the repairs; they'd have to pick up the pace if they were going to catch up with the skiff before nightfall. Once darkness fell, they'd never find Snorkmaiden. To add to their troubles, he could see the storm clouds on the horizon were getting closer...
Not too far away, on the skiff, things weren't looking good for Captain Rumpot and his captive. The wind had died down too much, forcing Rumpot to take to the oars. They were not too far from the nearest shipping lane, where he hoped to find a ship to take them aboard, posing as castaways – and then to seize it and turn it into his new pirate vessel. Then, their luck had run out when one of the oarlocks had broken, rendering the oars useless and leaving the skiff dead in the water.
With the summer sun beating down on them, the pair was soon driven to desperation. With no choice but to wait for a passing ship to pick them up, which didn't seem to be coming any time soon, their hopes were quickly plummeting. Sweating torrents, Captain Rumpot kept muttering curses about lazy, incompetent sailors keeping a lady and a respected pirate Captain waiting.
"Shiver me timbers, where are the ships?" he grumbled, "Don't they know they're keeping a young lady waiting? They're a disgrace to salt water, the lot of them!"
"Water... Please, water..." moaned Snorkmaiden, clutching her parched throat, looking close to fainting. Alas, there was no water or any other supplies of any kind on the skiff.
"To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind a swing of rum myself," muttered Rumpot grimly, thinking of all the bottles of rum he'd left behind on his schooner in his haste to escape. He'd give his right leg for a bottle of rum now. Just then, he noticed the speck of an approaching ship on the horizon, which looked vaguely familiar...
Onboard the resurrected schooner, its amateur crew was still hard at work, trying to keep the crippled ship sailing. It wasn't easy. The only one among them who had any sailing experience was Too-Ticky, but had never sailed a vessel larger than her skiff before; Moomintroll knew a few things about sailing from his Papa's memoirs, but had never sailed a boat in his life and neither had Martin. As for Sniff and Little My, they'd never even been in open sea in their lives; the former couldn't even swim.
Besides keeping a general compass heading, they had no idea if they were headed in the right direction. For all they knew, the current had carried them further than they expected, or the skiff had changed course and could be anywhere by now.
Leaving Too-Ticky at the helm, Martin joined Moomintroll, who was keeping himself busy by clearing away the debris still littering the deck, in an effort to take his mind off Snorkmaiden. Sniff, who was supposed to be helping him, had fallen asleep on the deckhouse, having been worked to exhaustion.
"Are you all right, little brother?"
"I'm so worried about Snorkmaiden," muttered Moomintroll miserably, "What if we're too late? She's all alone with that terrible villain! Only the Booble knows what he might do to her..."
"We'll get her back, I promise," said Martin, pulling Moomintroll into a hug to comfort him, "And that scoundrel Rumpot better not have harmed her," he added to himself, "Because if he's so much as hurt a hair on her head, I'll have him walk the plank with an anchor tied around his neck!"
Meanwhile, up in the crow's nest, Little My was watching the horizon with a telescope Martin had found in the captain's cabin. Nothing but empty sea all around. Then, suddenly, something on the horizon caught her eye. The white outline of a triangular sail was unmistakable. They'd found the skiff!
"Skiff off the port bow!"
At once, everyone was on their toes. They all gathered over by the railing, looking out at sea; sure enough, the skiff was there, less than a mile away. The schooner was headed straight for it. Taking the telescope from Little My, Martin saw two figures onboard: Captain Rumpot, cutlass drawn and keeping an iron grip on Snorkmaiden's wrist with the other. They couldn't tell for certain whether he'd recognised his own schooner, still afloat, and realised he was being pursued, or whether he was just being cautious; but whatever it was, they had to move fast before things got out of hand.
"What are we going to do?" asked Sniff, "Once that pirate realises it's us, they'll be trouble."
"I say we turn the cannon on the skiff and blow him out of the water!" suggested Little My, gesturing at the schooner's one remaining cannon still mounted on deck, the rest having been lost overboard in the storm.
"Are you mad?!" Moomintroll chastised her angrily, "Snorkmaiden's on that boat, remember?"
Martin considered. Sniff was right; once that hoodlum realised who they were, there would be another standoff which would only endanger Snorkmaiden's life even more. What they needed was to get someone onto the skiff unnoticed, to tackle Rumpot when he wasn't looking. Suddenly, a plan occurred to him...
On the skiff, Captain Rumpot felt his displeasure build, as he recognised his schooner, repaired, albeit crudely, and sailing once again. He couldn't believe those nosy brats, whom he'd left onboard her to drown, had actually managed to keep her from sinking. On the other hand, their reappearance had solved another problem.
He watched as the schooner came alongside the skiff and the landlubbers tossed him a line. Rumpot caught it, but still made no move to release Snorkmaiden, keeping his cutlass level with her cheek. He could see two of the younger troll-boys and that irritating little barnacle of a girl standing over at the railing, and the tomboy girl-sailor at the helm. No sign of the older boy Park, who was probably somewhere below decks.
"Well, well, hallo again, me hearties!" he called, giving them an evil grin, revealing his many rotting teeth, "I see you actually got old salt to sail again. Not bad for a sorry little bunch of landlubbers!"
"Not as sorry as you're going to be!" shouted Moomintroll angrily, shaking his fist at Rumpot, "Now let Snorkmaiden go!" The pirate captain roared with laughter at his hollow threats.
"You should know by now that a pirate captain doesn't take orders from furry snowballs with noses like hippos!" he said, mocking Moomintroll, "And seeing as you fixed me ship, I'd like to reacquisition it. Drop me the ladder." Nobody moved to lower the rope ladder. Captain Rumpot began to lose patience.
"If you don't let me come aboard right now, the girl walks the plank!" he growled, pointing his cutlass at Snorkmaiden, bringing it so close that it forced her to bend backwards to avoid the sharp tip, until she was about to go over the side, "Either I get my ship back, or she'll be food for lobsters! I'll...Ah!"
Suddenly, the skiff gave a lurch. Caught by surprise, Captain Rumpot lost his balance and with a loud crash landed on the bottom of the boat, knocking the wind out of him in the process. Snorkmaiden wasn't so lucky; because Rumpot had pushed her so close to the edge, the rolling of the boat tipped her right over the side and into the sea – and she was still tied, hand and foot. What had happened?
A soaking wet Martin, who had circled around the schooner by swimming underwater had grabbed hold of the skiff and tipped it over. Climbing onto the boat as fast as he could, he grabbed Rumpot's cutlass and tossed it into the sea, disarming him. Just as the angry pirate was about to get to his feet, Martin grabbed the remaining oar from its lock and swung it as hard as he could at Rumpot's head. The blow sent the pirate crumpling back onto the bottom of the boat like a sack of potatoes, out like a light. The skiff was secure.
Martin breathed a sigh of relief, slightly shaken by what he had done. He'd had his fair share of scruffs before, but had never knocked someone out cold before. Thankfully, he could tell Rumpot was still breathing. Worst case scenario, he'd wake up with a bad headache and no doubt a bad temper too. It was just then that he heard his friends' cries.
"Martin, Snorkmaiden's drowning!"
Looking, Martin realised with horror he had unintentionally knocked Snorkmaiden overboard. Normally she was a good swimmer and there would have been no cause for worry; but with her hands and feet tied, she couldn't swim a stroke. Her head was already underwater and she was sinking to the bottom like a stone.
Martin didn't waste a second; diving back into the water, he swam under as fast as he could. The salt water made his eyes ache. He could see Snorkmaiden a little ways down, thrashing about wildly trying to free herself, quickly running out of breath. Grabbing her by the shoulders, Martin kicked for the surface.
The pair resurfaced; Snorkmaiden coughed and splattered, gasping for air. Holding her head above water, Martin kicked for the ship. It was anything but easy; with Snorkmaiden unable to swim and the strong currents of the open sea carrying them away made it extremely difficult to get back to the ship. It was only thanks to Too-Ticky quickly climbing down into the skiff and throwing them a line that kept them both from drowning.
They pulled the exhausted Martin and Snorkmaiden up onto the deck of the schooner. Using a dagger she'd found in the main cabin, Too-Ticky cut Snorkmaiden free, while Sniff hurried below to get her some water. Other than thirst and a bad shock from her ordeal, she hadn't been harmed. No sooner were her hands free than she threw herself at Martin, hugging and kissing him.
"Thank you for saving my life. Thank you so much!"
"You're very welcome, Snorkmaiden," said Martin uneasily, hugging her back. He was starting to feel rather embarrassed at being hugged and kissed like that by a girl in front of his friends. All around him, everyone was cheering.
"This is the second time you've saved my life since we met," said Snorkmaiden, who was practically in tears, "Oh, Martin, the day you arrived in Moominvalley was the best thing that ever happened to all of us!"
"Hear, hear," said Little My, who was clapping wildly.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the time to be celebrating a joyful reunion, because they still had to find their way back to Moominvalley. They had sailed quite some distance while in pursuit of the skiff and were now in the middle of the open sea, with no sight of land in any direction. Their little adventure was still far from over.
They hoisted the unconscious Captain Rumpot onboard and tied him to the broken mainmast, where they could keep a close eye on him. Once they returned home, they could hand him over to the authorities. Just as they'd finished tying him up using a length of rigging they'd found on deck, he began to stir. His confused expression gave way to fury.
"How dare you seize my ship, you scurvy curs!" he shouted, "You'll all swing from the yardarm for this! I'll keelhaul the lot of you...!" But the group were completely unfazed by his threats. This overgrown bully who'd snatched away their friend was about to get his comeuppance.
"The way I see it, it's you who'll swing when they send you to the gallows for piracy and kidnapping!" said Martin coolly, making sure all the knots binding Rumpot were tight and secure. "You made a big mistake, taking Snorkmaiden hostage, and now you'll answer for it!"
"You'll eat those words, boy, on the point of my cutlass!" growled Rumpot, not looking the least worried that he was headed for prison, maybe even execution, "You brats don't stand a chance; you'll never manage to sail this ship back to land on your own in this condition. Nobody challenges the great Captain Rumpot...!" He fell silent however when Martin did something that made his friends gasp; he pulled a heavy flintlock pistol from his belt, aiming it direct in Rumpot's face. Anticipating they'd need protection once they caught up with the skiff, he'd found the pistols in the ship's powder magazine and armed himself.
"This is how it works, Captain," he said, stressing the word captain, "There is a new authority onboard this ship and, for your sake, you better respect it. You disobey, one time, and you'll get a ball right up your nose!" He turned to Little My and passed her the pistol. Despite being so small, she had a pretty firm grip on it.
"You're in change of guarding this sorry sack of dung," Martin told her, "If he gives you any trouble..."
"I know, I pump his guts full of lead," said Little My gleefully. She gave Rumpot a nasty smile, who gulped; it didn't take much intelligence to figure out what the unpredictable little Mymble might do to him if he made her angry. Martin smirked at his fear.
"Correct," he said, giving her the thumbs-up, "But only as a last resort, understand?" he added with a hint of warning not to do anything rash. Pirate or no pirate, the last thing they needed was for Little My to get it into her head to start taking pot-shots at an unarmed prisoner for fun.
Leaving Little My standing guard over the prisoner, the others assembled for a meeting down in the captain's cabin. Martin and Too-Ticky had found the navigator's chest and were pouring over the charts and navigation instruments, trying to figure out their location. Using a ruler and pencil, and his notes outlining their course, sailing time and approximate speed, Martin drew a couple of lines on the map, following an old-fashioned navigation technique his father had taught him which was still used sometimes by pilots in the absence of high-tech instruments.
Best they could figure, they'd been sailing west all this time for maybe 50 miles, not counting the time they'd been drifting with the current while making repairs, which had carried them northwards for maybe another 20 miles. By triangulating their sailing route against their drift, he was able to calculate a rough south-easterly course that would take them home. With no way to be exact, they decided they would sail in a straight line until they sighted land; then they'd follow the coast until they sighted Moominvalley.
They sailed for many hours. The wind had changed direction, working in their favour. What a story they would have to tell their friends when they returned home! With the schooner towing the skiff behind it, they kept heading southeast, but still could not see any sign of land. Then their troubles started again. The weather, which so far had been good, began to worsen. The sky turned grey with dark clouds and thunder clapped overhead; a sign of an approaching storm.
"Should we try and sail around it?" asked Too-Ticky, not liking the look of those clouds one bit. Martin however overruled her.
"To circle around it, we'd have to sail way off course; we could end up hopelessly lost. No, it's better if we stay on our course and hope we can clear it before it gets too severe."
But Martin's decision to brave the storm soon turned out to be not the wisest of choices. The sea only grew rougher and rougher and the wind shears worsened. Pretty soon, the schooner was rocking up and down over the waves like a see-saw, the wind carrying it along at great speed. Having already sustained serious damage from the previous storm, the battered vessel was barely holding together. Down in the hold, the patches they'd nailed in place were slowly working their way free; water begun gushing in, flooding the bilges.
"Everybody get below!" ordered Martin, "It'll be safer there."
With the exception of Martin and Too-Ticky at the helm, and Captain Rumpot still tied to the mast, the rest of the group took refuge in the roundhouse. There at least they were safe from the waves sweeping over the deck. The Moomins huddled close together feeling scared, hoping the schooner would survive the storm. Snorkmaiden was crying, clinging to Moomintroll for protection.
"This is the end," she sobbed, "We'll all drown! We'll never see Moominvalley again!"
"Cheer up, Snorkmaiden," Moomintroll tried reassuring her, in spite of his own fear. Nearby, Sniff, who should have been panicking at the prospect of drowning, was too busy being violently sick in a bucket, "Martin will save us. I know he will!"
On the roof of the roundhouse, Martin and Too-Ticky were struggling to hold the helm steady. They'd been fighting the storm was over an hour and it still wasn't abating. Both of them were near exhaustion and soaked to the skin from the spray of the sea. They couldn't hold out much longer and neither could the schooner. If they didn't clear the storm soon, they'd be history.
At that moment, the jib line snapped, leaving the sail fluttering uselessly in the wind. On the mizenmast, the remaining sail was stretching tight, making distinct tearing sounds, about to give way at any moment. If they lost their last sail before they could reach calmer waters, they'd be dead in the water smack in the middle of a storm.
"There! I see clear sky ahead!"
Just as the sail was about to come apart, the storm clouds started to thin out and the sea became calmer. They had reached the edge of the storm. The battered schooner emerged into the calm sea, now looking in even worse condition than before, leaving the storm behind her.
"Look, I see land!"
Sure enough, right ahead of them stretched a familiar coastline. Using the telescope, Martin eagerly surveyed the coast until he noticed a beech, beyond which was an all-too-familiar green valley. They were within sight of Moominvalley, practically back where they'd started! The Moomins all cheered excitedly.
"Hooray! We're going home!" cheered Moomintroll.
Meanwhile, Captain Rumpot had managed to slip a hidden dagger from inside his coat and had nearly finished cutting himself free. By the Seven Seas, those brats had actually managed to sail his crippled ship back to land. But he wasn't going to wait until they made port, where he knew the authorities would be waiting to arrest him. He'd have his revenge yet!
Untying himself, he noiselessly slipped away into the shadows, to wait for the right moment to strike...
"There's still too much water coming in down here!"
No sooner had they got over their joy of soon being home, when they realised the storm had struck a death blow to the schooner. Many of the patches hadn't held and now the ship was leaking like a sieve, the water overflowing from the bilges and swamping the lower decks. The schooner was already starting to list as she settled deeper and deeper. The pumps couldn't keep up with the flooding. There was no way they'd have enough time to reach the shallows and beech her. She was going down. It seemed they'd reached the end of the road.
"Prepare to abandon ship!"
Bringing the skiff alongside the schooner, Too-Ticky lowered the rope-ladder and they all piled in: Sniff, Little My, Too-Ticky and Moomintroll. That left only Snorkmaiden and Martin.
"After you. Come on!" said Martin, helping her over the railing. Snorkmaiden suddenly froze.
"What about Captain Rumpot?" she asked, "We can't just leave him here. He'll drown!"
Although, personally, Martin would have liked nothing better that to leave that miserable scoundrel who'd taken his friend hostage and held a cutlass to her throat to go down with his ship as he deserved, if they left him here tied up to drown like a rat, would make them murderers. Unlike Rumpot, who'd already tried to do just that to them, they couldn't sink that low.
"You go on ahead. I'll get him."
He turned and headed towards the mainmast, taking out his pocket-knife as he did. He'd cut the rascal loose and then make a break for it. But there was no way they'd risk taking him along as a passenger. If Rumpot couldn't swim to shore, then too bad for him. He hadn't taken more than five steps, when he heard Snorkmaiden's scream.
"Martin, look out!"
Martin barely managed to dodge the blade of a cutlass, as Captain Rumpot came springing at him from behind one of the deckhouses. The pirate had a hungry look in his eyes, ready to spill some blood.
"We've got some unfinished business you and I, boy," he smiled evilly, "I'm going to nail your gizzards to the mast, you little poxy cur!"
Martin reacted quickly and drew the pistol from his belt. Aiming it in Rumpot's face, he pulled the trigger... only to produce an insignificant click. The powder was wet and the gun was useless! Rumpot laughed.
"Well, shoot your own shipmate, will yeah?" In an instant he had Martin pinned to the wall of the deckhouse, the cutlass level with his chin, "The sharks are waiting for you, me hearty!"
Snorkmaiden was petrified, staring in horror at her friend, unarmed and about to be run through by that brute's sword. Martin had already saved her life twice; she couldn't just leave him at the mercy of that pirate! But what could she do?
Looking around desperately, she noticed a broken pulley from the rigging hanging on the end of a rope. Grabbing it, she swung it as hard as she could in Rumpot's direction. The heavy pulley swung from the mast like a pendulum, heading straight for Rumpot's turned back. But the pirate Captain, who'd heard the rattling noise of the incoming pulley, turned and saw it, giving him just enough time to duck out of its path.
In that second of distraction, Martin grabbed a piece of a broken oar lying on the deck and swatted Rumpot's cutlass aside with the butt end. The two opponents faced each other as they continued crossing weapons.
Although Martin was swift at ducking and blocking his attacker's blows, Rumpot was stronger and obviously far more proficient with the sword than he was. The oar Martin was using as a weapon was a poor match against Rumpot's razor-sharp cutlass, the wood quickly splintering from the blows. Any minute now, he'd find himself disarmed and then Rumpot would be upon him for the kill...
Down in the bowls of the ship, the water was continuing to rise, causing the tilting of the deck to steepen. Loose objects began rolling across the floor as the schooner continued to sink. In the abandoned crew's quarters, a forgotten kerosene lamp still sat burning on a barrel. As the deck tilted further, the lamp toppled over and fell to the floor, where it shattered, spilling kerosene everywhere. The highly volatile kerosene instantly burst into flame.
The blaze quickly spread to the canvas hammocks, engulfing the whole room, spreading with alarming speed. The fire spread quickly from room to room, making its way towards the powder magazine the boys had left open...
On deck, Martin and Captain Rumpot continued to fight. His oar now in pieces and with nothing left to defend himself with, Martin could only dodge and duck as Captain Rumpot relentlessly pursued him. The evil pirate was laughing cruelly, enjoying his sport.
"Foolish boy," he taunted, "You don't stand a chance against a pirate who's sent more ships to the bottom than you can count!"
"That's rich, coming from a dirty coward who takes girls hostage and attacks unarmed opponents!" retorted Martin, refusing to be intimidated, "You're pathetic, Captain!" Rumpot's face contorted with fury at the insult as he continued to swing his cutlass at Martin, who barely managed to scamper onto the roof of the deckhouse. Rumpot followed him up and soon had him bracketed. Looking behind him, Martin saw a wall of smoke and fire coming from an open hatchway beneath the deckhouse. He was cornered.
"Martin, catch!"
Looking, Martin saw Snorkmaiden toss him a cutlass she'd found lying on the deck. Now evenly matched to fight his enemy, grasping his weapon firmly with both hands, he returned his opponent's blows with a vengeance. Sparks flew from the blades as they crossed and collided in savage blows.
"Now, who's pathetic, me hearty, relying on a girl to win your fight?" sneered Rumpot, "But no matter; once I've attended to you, I'll put your little girlfriend in her proper place too." Martin saw red.
"Over my dead body!" he snarled, striking another blow at his opponent, which Rumpot easily blocked.
"That can be arranged!" growled the pirate, growing tired of playing games. Blocking another blow from Martin's cutlass, using his massive weight, he pinned the teen against the mast; Martin's cutlass struck fast in the wood right above his head, Rumpot's own cutlass pinning it in place. Down on the deck, Snorkmaiden gasped, covering her eyes in terror.
"Looks like you're out of tricks this time, me hearty!" grinned Rumpot evilly in Martin's face, preparing to grab the boy by the neck and then run him through. But Martin wasn't out of tricks yet. Tilting his head back, he head-butted his opponent hard on the nose. The pirate staggered backwards, clutching his face in agony, and dropping his sword, which slid over the edge of the deckhouse roof and into the fire. Not missing his chance, Martin kicked him hard in the gut. Rumpot fell to his knees, groaning like a gorilla with a hernia.
"Courtesy of London's East End gangs," smirked Martin, looking at his fallen opponent, still nursing his abdomen, "You lose, Captain!"
Abandoning Rumpot, Martin jumped from the deckhouse roof, straight into Snorkmaiden's embrace. She hugged him tight, overjoyed to see he was all right.
"You're so brave, Martin," she said with awe, "I thought he was going to kill you!"
"So did I for a minute there," said Martin sheepishly. He couldn't have done it without his friend's help. He kissed Snorkmaiden on the cheek, "You saved my hide. Thanks."
"Just returning the favour," said Snorkmaiden, blushing scarlet. The ominous sound of collapsing deck planking snapped them back to reality.
The inferno had spread topside from below decks, engulfing the whole ship. Torn sails and loose rigging caught fire, the blaze spreading up the masts like pillars of fire. Any second now, the flames would reach the powder magazine and the ship would explode. Martin grabbed Snorkmaiden's hand.
"Come on, we have to get off this ship!"
They hurried back towards the rope ladder. But before they could get there, a burning spar came crashing down onto the deck, barring their escape route. All around them, the flames continued to close in on them, growing bigger by the second. Snorkmaiden began to panic.
"We're trapped!" she cried, clinging fearfully to Martin's arm, "Oh, Martin, I'm so scared...!"
"That way!" said Martin, pointing at the stairs that led up to the bridge on the roof of the roundhouse, "Come on, up to the stern!"
Scampering up the stairs to the bridge, they made their way aft, all the way to the end of the stern. The deck was becoming a steep incline as the stern rose and the bow went under. Any second now, the forecastle would be awash, before the doomed schooner took the final plunge to the ocean floor.
Martin and Snorkmaiden huddled together at the railing. Martin helped her over the side, "All right, we've got to jump!" Snorkmaiden looked at the water far below, eyes wide.
"No, I can't do that!" she cried, "It's too high!"
"You've got to be brave, Snorkmaiden," said Martin, desperately urging her on, "Come on, just take one step and jump. I promise you, it won't hurt. Go, I'll be right behind you!" But Snorkmaiden had frozen in fear.
"I'm sorry, I'm too scared!" she wept, "Please, Martin, save me!"
With no other alternative save for pushing her over the side, something he didn't care to do, Martin climbed over the railing beside her. He took her hand.
All right, we go together," he said, "I promise I won't let go. Right, on the count of three, we jump! One, two... Ah!"
Suddenly, without warning, Martin's left shoulder exploded with agonizing pain. Turning, he saw a dagger buried deep into his flesh; and, a short distance away, a triumphant-looking Captain Rumpot, who had thrown it. The pain and shock caused him to lose his footing. With a scream, he fell from the railing, taking Snorkmaiden with him. They both hit the water hard.
Captain Rumpot stared triumphantly where the Park boy and the blond troll-girl had fallen overboard. Well, that insolent little rat who'd ruined him would be feeding the fish after all! Nobody could beat the great Captain Rumpot, the terror of the Seven Seas! He raised his arm in a gesture of triumph, but froze in mid-laugh, as he heard a familiar growling sound from below decks – the last thought that went through his head before his ship was obliterated in a gigantic explosion was the impossible realization that he, Captain Rumpot, the notorious pirate that no navy in the world had ever been able to apprehend, had been beaten by a group of mere children.
All the deckhouses and planking were blown sky high; the burning masts collapsed as the hull split apart like an eggshell. The schooner's ruined stern rose vertically, before she slipped beneath the waves for the last time, taking her notorious captain with her to the bottom of the sea.
On the skiff, the Moomins gasped in terror as the schooner exploded. It seemed the fire had finally reached the ship's powder magazine, destroying the pirate vessel for good. Too-Ticky had rowed them to a safe distance, to avoid being pulled under by the suction as she went down. For the last few minutes, they'd been frantically circling the sinking ship, looking for any sign of Martin and Snorkmaiden. Moomintroll went frantic.
"No! Snorkmaiden! Martin!" He turned to Too-Ticky, "We can't just leave them! We have to go back! Please, Too-Ticky!"
"All right, we're going back," said Too-Ticky. Turning the skiff around, they approached the school of floating wreckage, which was all that was left of the schooner.
Snorkmaiden resurfaced amidst a mess of charred flotsam, some still burning. The ship was gone, sunk. Frantically, she looked around for Martin. She saw him nearby, clinging to a piece of wreckage. He looked hurt.
"Martin, are you all right?" she called, swimming up to him, "Martin, answer me, please. Oh, Martin...!" she gasped, noticing her friend's injured shoulder. The dagger had come out in the fall, leaving a deep cut that was bleeding badly. Fighting the urge to pass out at the sight of all that blood, she swam up to him and shook him, begging him to awake. Martin didn't respond.
He's dead, Snorkmaiden thought, about to burst into tears, My beloved saviour's dead... She shook him again. "Martin, please don't be dead!" she cried, "Please, wake up!" Suddenly, as if by a miracle, Martin's hand grasped hers. His eyes fluttered open, looking at her. He was alive!
"I...I'm all right, Snorkmaiden," he groaned, "It's just a scratch... Ah!" As he tried to move, his wounded shoulder exploded with pain again, almost making him pass out.
"Hold on, Martin!" Snorkmaiden begged him, "Help's coming!" Looking frantically around, she spotted the skiff rowing in their direction. She waved frantically to attract attention.
"Help! Over here! Please, help us!" The skiff rowed alongside her and Moomintroll pulled her out of the water.
"Are you all right, Snorkmaiden?" he asked, utterly relieved to see that she was safe, "I was so worried! What happened? Where's Martin?"
"Captain Rumpot escaped," cried Snorkmaiden, almost hysterically, "He stabbed him and I think he's dying...!" It was then that the Moomins noticed their friend lying injured and semiconscious in the water. They all gasped in horror.
"Oh, no! Martin!"
Moomintroll didn't hesitate; diving into the water, he grabbed Martin by the arm and pulled him towards the boat. Too-Ticky, with Sniff's help, pulled him aboard. They laid him down on the bottom of the boat. The sight of their friend's condition tore at their heartstrings.
"We need to get him to a doctor at once!" said Moomintroll urgently.
"What's the point? He's not going to make it anyway," said Little My in spite of herself, but regretted it before the words had even crossed her lips. They all gave her reproachful glares.
"Don't say that, Little My!" shouted Moomintroll angrily. Snorkmaiden was absolutely beside herself.
"It's all my fault!" she sobbed, "If I hadn't hesitated to jump when he told me to, this wouldn't have happened!" She cradled Martin's head in her hands, "Oh, Martin, look what that fiend did to you...!"
"It's not your fault, Snorkmaiden," said Moomintroll reassuringly, but it did little good in alleviating the terrible guilt that was eating poor Snorkmaiden alive. She continued to sob, begging for Martin not to die.
With Sniff holding a handkerchief over Martin's wound to stop the bleeding, and Moomintroll at the tiller, Too-Ticky rowed for shore as fast as she could.
On a cliff overlooking the beech, the Inspector, Moominpapa, Snufkin and Snork were surveying the sea through a telescope, looking in vain for the schooner and their missing friends. For hours, the Inspector had had patrols searching the coastline for survivors, but finding nothing. It seemed the schooner had drifted far out to sea before finally sinking, in which case they'd never find them.
"I knew this was a bad idea," said Snufkin solemnly, "I told them not to go! They wouldn't listen."
"And you didn't stop them?" asked Snork reproachfully, "You let my sister go out to that pirate ship?! You know these wild adventures are strictly not for girls!" Snufkin looked hurt at the accusation.
"That's enough!" said Moominpapa sternly, "Arguing won't get us anywhere. Moomintroll is a smart boy and so is Martin. I'm sure they'll be all right until we can find them."
"Wait, I see something!" cried the Inspector, "It is... yes, it's smoke!"
Taking the telescope from the Inspector, Moominpapa saw a cloud of smoke rising from the sea in the distance. It was the schooner, on fire and sinking. There was trouble! Then, looking more closely, he saw a familiar skiff approaching shore. The children had made it!
"It's Too-Ticky's skiff!" he said, breathing a sigh of relief, "They're all right. Come on!"
They hurried down to the beach, just as the skiff pulled in to shore. Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, Sniff, Little My and Too-Ticky, all looking exhausted and dishevelled, but otherwise unharmed, disembarked. Moominpapa hurried over to embrace his son.
"Moomintroll, my boy, where have you been?" he asked with concern, "Your Mama and I have been worried sick about you and Martin... Whatever is the matter, son?" he asked, suddenly realizing Moomintroll was crying.
"It's Martin, Papa!" he sobbed, "He's been seriously hurt...!" Alarmed, Moominpapa turned and saw his stepson lying unmoving in the bottom of the boat, his shirt sleeve crimson. Moominpapa froze.
"Snorkmaiden! Don't you scare me like that again! What were you thinking?" Snork furiously berated his sister. Snorkmaiden hugged him tightly, sobbing her heart out.
"I'm so sorry, Snork!" she wailed, alligator tears running down her face, "It's all my fault Martin's injured! Please, you've got to help him...!" Realizing what his sister had just said, Snork turned and saw the injured Martin being helped from the boat by Moominpapa and Moomintroll. He gasped.
The Inspector hurried forward, frowning at the sight of the dagger wound in Martin's upper arm. He had enough experience to tell that this was no accidental injury and required immediate police intervention. He heaved the unconscious Martin over his shoulder.
"Moominpapa, run up ahead and have Moominmama prepare a bed, hot water and bandages. Snork, send for Mr Hemulen. Tell him we need a doctor over at Moominhouse urgently! I'll also need to take statements from each one of you, so don't you go wondering off anywhere," he added sternly to the rest of the group, staring from one guilty face to another, "And youbetter have a good explanation for going out to that wreck, when I explicitly said it was forbidden!" The Moomins lowered their heads sadly. There was no worming their way out of trouble after what happened today.
"Yes, Inspector."
Author's note: Another chapter is up! I realise some of the scenes in this chapter might seem a bit too violent for the Moomin universe, however I wanted to show them on an adventure with some realistic danger. I hope I didn't overdo it. Enjoy and please review!