Ahoy thar, me hearties! I'm back, with a new chapter fer ye t' review! Read, enjoy, and REVIEW!

Strolling through the bustling crowds of Bristol with Thomas at her side, Elizabeth felt acutely self-conscious in her new guise. Two nights ago they had arrived in Bristol, where Thomas bought several pairs of old boy's clothes from a booth in the market, and where Elizabeth had subsequently shorn her locks, taking the final step to casting off her identity as Elizabeth Hawkins, daughter of a respectable innkeeper, and adopting instead the name and personality of Jim Hawkins, a street urchin rescued by the good Doctor Livesey so as to employ him as cabin boy on the Hispaniola, which was setting sail on a voyage to the tropics, reason unknown.

Thomas cast a sideways look at Elizabeth – not the first since they'd left the inn they'd been staying at to meet the crew Thomas had hired to sail the Hispaniola. With her hair cut, Elizabeth looked years younger, and though she did look a mite too feminine if you looked closely, the dirt smudged on her face and the old breeches and loose patched shirt covered most of it up. All in all, common enough to be presented to the ship's crew without them getting suspicious, and then they could head off to Treasure Island.

He grinned as he saw Elizabeth tugging nervously at the curl that hung over her forehead. He lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax," he said, eyes twinkling. "No one here knows who you really are. But if you keep glancing around like that, people will think you've something to hide!"

Elizabeth smiled ruefully. "Very easy for you to say, Thomas." Then she cleared her throat, trying to make her voice deeper, and continued, "It's just that I feel so very odd in breeches – though I must admit, they're quite liberating from heavy skirts. And not wearing a bonnet, and not having my hair. My hair, that's the strangest thing. I'm so used to having a long braid hanging down my back, or having it bundled up, but still there, and now – now it feels like a part of me is missing. Oh well – sacrifices have to be made, I suppose. And it's too late now for me to change my mind."

Thomas grinned at her. "And may I remind you, milady, that this was your idea?"

She pretended to be upset. "Stop teasing, you horrid boy!" Then she gave a small cry and pointed. "Oh, is that it? The docks?"

Following the direction of her finger, Thomas looked and nodded. The docks of Bristol sprawled along the beach, the many ships with their tall sails looking for all the world like huge brown birds with white wings raised aloft, and the men that scurried back and forth, carrying cargo on their backs, looked like a colony of busy ants.

"Aye," said Thomas, "That's the harbour."

Elizabeth stared for a moment, then asked, "Where's the Hispaniola?"

Thomas jerked his chin in the direction of the harbour. "She's moored there, never you worry."

Suddenly Elizabeth gave a great whoop and broke into a run. "Last one there's a rotten fish!" she yelled, and bounded down to the docks.

Thomas started with surprise, then, caught up in the excitement, he sprinted after her, clutching his hat in his hand.


Elizabeth was waiting for him next to a booth selling fish, her face nearly split in half by her impish grin. "Rotten fish!" she said, watching him bend over, gasping for breath. "Old rotten fish!"

"Hey there!" Thomas said indignantly, "I am not old!"

"Are too!" Elizabeth insisted, then began to prance around him in circles. "Old rotten fish, old rotten fish!"

She stopped for a moment and smiled. "This is fun! No having to be a mature young lady, being scolded all the time for unlady-like behaviour. I like being a naughty street urchin!" She resumed her jig and chant. "Old rotten fish, old rotten fish, old rotten fi – ow!"

A hand had descended and seized hold of her ear, causing her to squint with pain. "Now then, what's this?" A deep voice boomed from behind her, and she turned as much as she was able to see a tall, well-built man standing behind her, keeping a good grip on her ear.

"Doctor Thomas Livesey, eh? And who's this little ragamuffin?"

Thomas's eyes lit up. "Captain Smollet!" He hurried up to the man, clasping his hand. "Smashing to see you, Jonathan! And I advise you to let go of this lad, lest you wrench his ear from his head, and that would be a pity, seeing as how he's our cabin boy."

The big man, Captain Jonathan Smollet, raised an eyebrow. "Cabin boy, eh? Well, I suppose he'll need his ears to hear orders." He released Elizabeth's ear, and she leapt away from him, rubbing her ear and scowling. "What's your name, boy?"

Puzzled, Elizabeth looked around to see whom the Captain was addressing, then flushed with embarrassment when she realized he was talking to her. "Er, Jim Hawkins, sir," she stammered, hoping desperately that she'd pitched her voice low enough and that it wouldn't give her away.

Eyeing her suspiciously, the Captain asked, "Hawkins?" He glanced at Thomas, who darted a quick look around, then leaned in to say softly, "This is no lad, Jonathan. This is Elizabeth Hawkins, Jim's daughter."

Captain Smollet's eyebrows shot up. "Daughter?"

Thomas nodded. "Aye. She's the one who came up with this crazy idea to go treasure hunting, and it's her gold that's paying for the trip. She wanted to come along, but we knew that sailors don't take well to females aboard, so she decided to dress as a boy – our cabin boy."

Jonathan Smollet cast Elizabeth an amused look. "Clever," he commented. "But won't there be…complications…especially in the matters of…" his voice trailed off, but the unsaid words were clear.

Elizabeth flushed bright red. So did Thomas. "I've got everything under control," she muttered.

Captain Smollet nodded curtly. "Good. Make sure you are extremely cautious. Not much on a ship can be kept secret for very long, you know. And something of this magnitude…be very, very careful. Though the crew is made of good men, life at sea is difficult, and for a time as long as this one's going to take…let's just say that men are men, and if they discover a woman on board…well, you'll know why women aren't usually allowed on ships." Captain Smollet looked impassive, but Thomas looked mortified, as did Elizabeth, who was also starting to feel rather doubtful about the genius of her plan.

Smollet broke the uncomfortable silence by saying gruffly, "Ye'd best come with me now, to meet the crew. They're taking the last of the cargo aboard, so we'll be ready to sail by tonight, at high tide. Come along, now."

He turned around abruptly and strode down the path to one of the many piers jutting out into the languid waters. A medium-sized ship, a schooner, bobbed on the waves, straining a little against the lines lashing her down and keeping her anchored to the wooden spit where men scurried around bearing heavy crates of supplies to fill the schooner's hold.

Long and sleek, masts rearing up proudly in an effort to reach the sky, a lovely bare-chested mermaid figurehead gazing down at them coyly through her eyelashes, the Hispaniola was indeed a beautiful ship, and captured both Thomas and Elizabeth's hearts. Elizabeth's eyes shone and her chest swelled with pride at being the one to own this magnificent vessel – well, co-owned it with Thomas.

Captain Smollet cracked a rare smile at the looks of amazement on his friends' faces. "She's a lovely one, isn't she?" he asked, and smiled again as Elizabeth and Thomas nodded their heads in vigorous agreement. "She's even better inside," Smollet told them, "Let's go aboard."

Following Thomas and Captain Smollet up the gangplank, Elizabeth's eyes widened in open awe at the wonders the ship – her ship – contained. Though Captain Smollet gave them only a brief tour, the glimpses that Elizabeth caught of the deep shadows of the hold and the far-off crow's nest made her vow silently to spend a good deal of time exploring the ship. She shivered with delicious excitement.

Captain Smollet led them back up to the main deck, where they leaned against the railings and enjoyed the view.

"Now then," Smollet was saying, "You'll see there are 6 cabins astern – as they were when she was first overhauled – for us to share, that is myself, the first mate, quartermaster, Doctor Thomas here, you, lad, " he nodded at Elizabeth, "and the cook. We're joined to the galley and forecastle, in a way, by that sparred passage there, " he pointed it out, "and so we've got quick access to the galley for midnight snacks, and you, m'lad, " he nodded again to Elizabeth, "will have your privacy. And since I'm sure you're not going to enjoy going down belowdecks to relieve yourself, I took the liberty of getting you a chamber pot, with a lid to keep it closed for when we hit rough patches."

Elizabeth was immensely relieved. "Thank you very much, sir," she said, and he acknowledged her with a half-smile.

"I've got to go check on some last minute things," the captain continued, "So you've time to rummage around your cabin, put your stuff where you wish, get comfortable before we set sail in an hour's time. The tide comes in then. Off you go now!"

At his dismissal, Elizabeth ran to the cabin that was to be hers, and waited for Thomas to catch up with her before opening the door and entering the room. It was small but quaint, the wooden planks gleaming with new polish. On one side of the room a hammock swung gently, in sync with the ship's rolling movements. The lower half of one wall was dotted with brass knobs, and Elizabeth, curious, ran over and knelt on the floor, then pulled at one of the knobs. She nearly fell over backward in surprise when it slid toward her, revealing itself to be a handle for a drawer that was apparently built into the wall. She beamed with delight.

"Oh, isn't it just lovely?" she asked Thomas, who was standing behind her, looking on with interest.

"Indeed it is," he agreed, "Ingenious. Here, let's have a look at my cabin, then you can come back and put away your things."

Elizabeth consented, and they went off to Thomas's cabin, located next to hers. His was a good deal fancier, and bigger too, with a real bed built into the floor and a chest of drawers and a small rug graced the smooth wooden floor.

"I say!" Elizabeth cried indignantly, "How come you get a bed, and I don't?"

Thomas grinned and tweaked her nose cheekily. "Because, my friend, you are a mere cabin boy, and I am the ship's doctor. Now go and pack while I revel in this luxury." He shoved the pouting cabin boy playfully out the door and threw himself on the bed, sighing happily. Perhaps this journey was going to be better than he'd thought.