Elizabeth and Pan swooped and dove, turning circles as the sky lightened in the east. Will followed more cautiously. The thrill of flying could not completely overcome his hesitation. Who was this strange little boy and how did they come to be soaring far above the Caribbean ?
As morning broke, a tiny island came into view. A coral reef protected a natural harbor on one side, where a ship lay at anchor. Palm trees waved above a white, sandy beach. On the other side of the island, a narrow, rocky strip pf land lay below steep cliffs.
The island looked uninhabited. Forested hills rose from the shore to the sides of an impossibly tall and steep central mountain. The stone peak was wreathed in wisps of morning fog rising from the tropical forests below.
Peter Pan and Elizabeth hung in midair, waiting for Will. "That's Hook's ship," cried the boy. "Let's fly down and circle around !"
"Do you think that's wise ?" asked Will, skeptically.
Just then a sailor in the crow's nest sounded the alarm. "Peter Pan off the starboard bow !" he bellowed. Pirates rushed on deck. Will spied the captain and realized why the boy called him Hook. The man had an immense iron hook in place of his right hand. Well-polished, the hook gleamed in the morning sun. The captain shook it skyward in Pan's direction, shouting orders to his crew.
Suddenly, three of the pirates began to rise into the air. "You didn't tell me they could fly too !" Will shouted.
The boy stared at the advancing pirates, dumbstruck. "Pirates can't fly !" he replied, stupidly.
"Well, they're flying now," cried Elizabeth. "We'd better retreat !"
Pan seemed to recover his wits. "My dagger !" he called, flying closer to Will. Belatedly, the blacksmith remembered putting the boy's dagger in his pocket. He retrieved it and tossed it to him. Pan caught it easily and dove to meet the aerial pirates' advance. Will and Elizabeth were unarmed.
"Fly higher !" he called to her. Pan was already battling two of the buccaneers, who were armed with curved scimitars. The third circled, looking for an opening. Will rose higher, then swooped down, gaining momentum as he fell. He tackled the third pirate. Will made a grab for the man's sword, but the rogue held on tightly. They grappled uselessly, rolling over and over in the air.
Elizabeth watched helplessly. The battle did not seem to be going well. Fortunately the rest of the pirates ventured no higher than the ship's rigging. She could hear their jeers and catcalls below. "Get 'im, Cecco ! Arr, stab 'im stem to stern ! Get the woman ! Take 'er prisoner !"
None of that, thought Elizabeth. She decided she might be able to try a variation of Will's flying tackle. Flying seemed to consist of simply willing oneself to go in the desired direction. Some speed could be gained by making swimming-type motions. Elizabeth had never learned to swim, so she was a bit fuzzy about the details. Her efforts worked well enough; she was more concerned with keeping the hem of her nightgown modestly below her knees. A moment's thought and she was ready to give it a try.
Peter Pan lunged at the larger of his opponents. Will still wrestled with the third pirate. The second one attacking Pan moved into position. No one was paying any attention to her. Elizabeth curled into a ball, holding the nightgown closed around her bent knees, somersaulted, and hurtled toward her target. At the last moment, she extended her legs in a powerful kick.
A groan went up from the pirate ship as Elizabeth struck the sailor dead on with both feet to the groin. All fighting stopped as Pan, Will, and the two remaining pirates watched the man curl into a fetal position, gripping his crotch in pain and whimpering. All eyes followed as he dropped like a stone into the sea below.
"So much for his happy thought," she remarked with satisfaction. Her husband gaped at her, jaw hanging slack. Pan looked a little sick.
"Bad form, bad form !" roared the pirate captain. He shouted instructions into the air. "Leave Pan ! He's mine. Capture the stranger and the woman, you scurvy dogs !"
"Retreat !" cried Elizabeth, as three more pirates floated up from the deck. Will shoved his opponent aside and swooped after her. After a moment, Peter Pan followed. It sounded as though the pirates were reluctant to pursue; the sound of Hook screaming curses at them faded into the distance.
They descended to a clearing in the forest. Will was furious with himself. A whole shop filled with weapons, and he had come away unarmed and unprepared. What had he been thinking ? Elizabeth hugged him tightly. "It's all right, we're safe," she whispered.
The boy was hopping around excitedly. "Lady, you were great ! Wasn't she great, Will ? Kicked Bill Jukes right in the nuts !" he doubled over with laughter. A moment later he was hopping again, waving his dagger, reenacting the battle. "I was great too, wasn't I , Lady ? I slashed, like this, and cut, like this ! Starkey was no match for me, he never is. I drew blood, did you see that ? You weren't much use, Will. I think we could have taken them if you had done your share."
"Stop !" Will shouted. Pan looked stunned. The child's lower lip trembled. Will clenched his fists, then relaxed them with an effort. He lowered his voice. "That was insane. We could have all been killed ! We could not have taken six fully-armed pirates with only one little dagger. From now on, you let the adults make the decisions."
"Well, all right, but we could have taken them. Really there were only five, the 'Lizbeth Lady kicked the one in the nuts, so he didn't count anymore." The boy burst into uncontrollable laughter again. "Right in the gooeys ! You got him good, didn't you, Lady ?"
Will sighed, exasperated. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. "I think it's normal, at his age," she commented in an undertone. "The preoccupation with crude humor, I mean."
"Believe me, some of us never grow out of it," replied Will, shooting an annoyed glance at the giggling urchin. "Peter ! We can't stand here all day. Take us to your home." He brightened at a sudden thought. "Do you have parents ?"
