Chapter 9
Klaus scratched the numbers from one to fifty on the ground with a stick, then began crossing certain numbers out.
"Are you stalling?" Fernald demanded. "What are you waiting for?"
"I'm checking something. See that small 'XLI' carved in the rock near the entrance?"
"The initials of another secret organization? Aye?" Widdershins asked.
"No, it's the number 41 in Roman numerals," said Klaus. "It's a prime number. It has no divisors but itself and one."
"So?" asked Scylla.
"The book didn't say to find the best path. It said to find the prime path. My theory is that the prime-numbered skulls on the path are safe and the others will trigger the trap." said Klaus.
"Klaus, don't risk your life on a theory," Fiona pleaded.
"I can't let innocent people be put in danger," Klaus said. "I have to try it."
Klaus took a deep breath and stepped on the second skull in the corridor. It didn't trigger. He stepped on the third skull, then skipped one to step on the fifth. It seemed to be working. He let out the breath he was holding.
Scylla called out to him, "Come back with fruit, or not at all!"
She pulled a miniature pistol from her pocket and pointed it down the corridor at him to enforce her threat.
Klaus could hear Fiona sobbing.
He went on to seven. Next was eleven; he would have to step over the next three. It was a bit of a stretch with his short legs, but he made it. Skip one to 13, then another stretch to 17. Next was 19, another easy one. Then 23, a stretch again.
It was hot in the tunnel and he felt sweat dripping down his face. Volcanic rumblings came from deep in the earth. The next step... he couldn't step on 24, 25, 26, 27, or 28. He tried to jump over five skulls. He landed off balance and nearly fell. He saved himself only by getting one foot onto 31.
The next one, 37, was the worst. He had to jump another five, and there was no easy save if he lost his balance this time. The next safe step was at 41. He took deep breaths, trying to fight panic. And this time the leap was perfect.
The 41st was a round rock landing between corridors. Two paths branched out from here. He had to make a decision: did he keep counting or reset to zero? The numbers he saw carved in the rock settled both questions. One was XII and the other XVII. He chose the prime and began the count again... 2,3,5,7,11,13,17.
On the next branch there was almost no light. Klaus wished he had thought to bring a flashlight. Fortunately, he could read the carved numbers on the wall by touch. The correct corridor this time had only eleven steps.
From there it was a plain rock passage without skulls. Klaus followed it around the bend and emerged into a narrow valley with sheer cliffs on every side. Fruit trees were growing in the middle of it. The fruits were large, pear-shaped, purple-green in color, and with a smell midway between peaches and old socks.
Klaus picked one fruit to carry in each hand. There was no way to take more safely. The rumbling was getting louder and the rocks were shaking now. Even so, he reversed his steps painstakingly, a word which here means "being painfully careful to avoid worse pains caused by triggering a lethal trap."
As Klaus entered the last corridor, he heard Fernald ask Syclla, "What is the secret of the fruit, anyway?"
"The legends say the Female Finnish Pirates have lived here isolated for centuries. What kept them from dying off? This fruit holds the secret of human longevity, if not immortality," Scylla explained.
Klaus emerged into the open air. Fiona gasped with relief and hugged him. Syclla snatched the fruit from his hands.
"It's good that so much of the V.F.D. has been wiped out by Olaf's mushrooms," Syclla said. "So many less people I have to worry about sharing this secret. If we can also get the sugar bowl, think of the possibilites. Wealth, power, and endless time to enjoy them!"
"Do I get a share?" Fernald asked.
"Yes, darling, you do," said Scylla. "In spite of your incompetence I still have a soft spot for you, you and your kinky hooks!"
Scylla bit into one of the fruits and offered him the other.
"Wait!" Klaus said. "I just thought of something."
"I don't care what you thought of," said Fernald, biting off a large chunk of fruit, then another.
"Why are there only Female Finnish Pirates? Why no Male Finnish Pirates?" Klaus asked. "Maybe it only works for women... or worse..."
Fernald suddenly doubled over in pain.
"...maybe it poisons men," Klaus finished.
"You -- you knew this could happen," said Fernald to Scylla in shocked horror.
"I considered the possibility, of course," said Scylla. "But I was willing to take the risk."
Fernald slashed wildly at her with his left hook with his last strength, but Scylla jumped back out of range. Fernald collapsed to the ground.
Widdershins charged at Scylla. "You monster, you've poisoned my stepson!"
Jarvis interposed himself between Widdershins and Scylla, swinging his blackjack, but Widdershins was too angry to care. He grabbed Jarvis in a bear-hug. They whirled around as if in a dance, with Jarvis clubbing away at the Captain's head.
Suddenly, Widdershins and Jarvis stumbled into the mouth of the Corridors of Skulls. There was a blast of superheated air...
"Stepfather!" cried Fiona.
Fiona ran at Scylla, and so did Klaus, to try to save Fiona. Scylla fired her minature pistol, dropping them both.
From above on the mountain there came a powerful rumble. The last triggering of the trap was too much for the unstable volcanic system. Molten rock began to cascade down the mountain. Scylla turned and ran.
Klaus crawled to Fiona's side. Both were too wounded to move fast... and the wall of lava was flowing their way.