Читать книгу The Complete Ruby Redfort Collection - Lauren Child - Страница 100

‘Pirates! Pirates! They’ll rob us blind, cut our throats and leave us for dead! They’ve already thrown that poor dog overboard.’

On hearing this, Mr Sylvester fainted.

This all provided an excellent distraction, one that Sabina Redfort made good use of. She very quickly and very quietly made her way to the wheelhouse, snatched up the ship-to-shore radio and sent out a mayday call to the coastguard.

‘Mayday, mayday, this is the Golden Albatross, are you receiving me? Over.’

She got no reply, but she wasn’t going to give up – someone was bound to pick up the distress signal sooner or later.

‘Mayday, mayday, this is the Golden Albatross, are you receiving me? We are in deep over-our-head trouble. Over.’

Still no reply. This was very odd. The coastguard were meant to answer immediately. Sabina’s voice rose louder.

‘Mayday, mayday, I repeat, are you receiving me? Over.’

‘Yes,’ said a voice – unfortunately not a voice from the radio, but rather a deep voice from just behind her. ‘It’s certainly over for you lady!’

Sabina spun around and there, standing a few feet away, was a smartly dressed young man who looked like he would be more comfortable in an office than on the deck of a pirate boat; he did not look one bit like the murderous type. However, the man at his side did. He was smiling, revealing a mouth full of gold teeth, some chipped, some missing. He was a small man, but he seemed to easily occupy the cabin with a monstrous malevolence.

In his hand was a very shiny and very sharp-looking knife.

‘I was just… trying to cancel a… dental appointment,’ stammered Sabina, not at all sure what she was saying – but she was staring at the man, and dental hygiene was the first thing that had come to mind.

The man sniggered cruelly. ‘No need for teeth where you’re going.’

Sabina didn’t like the glint in his eye – he was obviously a man who enjoyed throwing dogs into the ocean, no doubt women too. He grabbed her arm and pushed and dragged her back to the deck.

‘Watch it, would you Captain Hook; you’re wrenching my arm out of its socket.’

‘No need for arms where you’re going,’ laughed the pirate. Then he spied the gem on her finger. ‘Now give me your ring!’

Sabina shook her head. ‘But this is a family heirloom, it belonged to several of my great-grandmothers, and if you think…’

‘You hand it over,’ growled the pirate, ‘or I’ll kill everyone on-board.’

‘But… it won’t come off my finger,’ protested Sabina.

‘No need for fingers where you are going!’ he said, flashing the knife.

Goodness, thought Sabina, there’s not going to be much of me left.

‘Let me cut it off, save you the struggle.’ He laughed again.

‘You’ll do no such thing,’ said Sabina, clenching her fists. The pirate lunged towards her and Sabina lashed out, clocking him on the jaw; Sabina Redfort packed quite a punch and the ring, which was diamond, gashed a scarlet ribbon across the pirate’s cheek.

‘Oh my, that was an accident,’ said Sabina a little nervously. ‘I was about to say, if you want this ring, you had better get me a little soap and water.’

The pirate didn’t look like he was about to oblige, but then he grinned.

‘OK,’ he said. ‘Here’s the water; good luck finding the soap.’

And with that he picked her up and threw her overboard.

Brant Redfort, horrified, bellowed, ‘Honey, don’t think of drowning, I’m coming to save you!’

And he swan-dived from the bow of the boat and disappeared beneath the waves. The pirates, sensing they had in some way failed to create an atmosphere of blind terror, began shooting into the water. They continued to shoot for some minutes, wanting to be sure that these two have-a-go heroes would never resurface.

‘We won’t be worth much to you if we’re all dead!’ screamed Mrs Sylvester. ‘Hostages have to be alive, remember.’

‘Who said anything about hostages?’ snarled the pirate.

This had the desired effect and all the remaining passengers trembled and awaited their fate.