Gadge fired a grappling hook at the hole in the side of Inkybeard’s ship so that Pendle could climb across. Inkybeard’s mutinous crew threw sponges, buckets and mop handles, trying to knock her off the rope, but she moved quickly and was soon safely back on the Leaky Battery.
“They’ve taken our cabin boy,” yelled Scar Face.
“Who cares?” said Broken Nose. “We’ve still got our treasure.”
“I say we capture the Steampunk Pirates and collect that reward,” shouted Stinky Breath.
“You’ll have to catch us first!” replied Gadge. “And that might be a problem with a hole in your hull.” Gadge steered the Leaky Battery away, leaving the other ship stranded until the repairs were done.
“Welcome back, Pendle,” said Captain Clockheart. “Poor old Inkybeard, eh? Eaten by a sea monster.”
“That was no monster,” said Pendle.
“Not a monster?” said Gadge. “But it’s got tentacles! And didn’t you see the bubbles it was making. What more proof do you want?”
“The tentacle that grabbed Inkybeard was made of metal, and the bubbles are more likely produced by an underwater ship – probably using some kind of steam-powered propeller system.”
“An underwater ship?” Lexi’s word-wheel turned and clicked. “I can find no record of anything of the sort.”
“Maybe young Master Kidd has heard of one,” said Gadge.
“Yes, where is he?” asked Pendle. “I’ve got a feeling he’s more involved in this than he’s letting on. He told the crew to feed Inkybeard to the monster.”
“I’ve not seen him since he went for that swim,” said Lexi.
“Yo ho, down below!” cried Blower. “We’ve lost the monster’s trail. It’s too fast for us.”
“Oh well,” said Lexi. “That’s that then.”
“Steampunk Pirates don’t give up so easily,” said Captain Clockheart.
“Exactly,” said Pendle. She pulled out the other half of the silver egg.
“Eggs for breakfast!” said Twitter. “Eggs for breakfast!”
“It’s not a real egg,” said Pendle.
“Then what is it, lad?” asked Captain Clockheart.
“This is a long-range magnetic tracking device that will help us catch whatever – or whoever – took Inkybeard.”4
Captain Clockheart inspected it and held it up to his ear. “It’s ticking.” “Yes. Inkybeard has the other half. The closer it gets, the faster this ticks. And that compass there shows us the direction we need to travel.”
Captain Clockheart nodded thoughtfully. “I see,” he said. “Yes. So how does it work?”
“Er … I just told you.”
“Don’t worry, I understand,” said Lexi. “Now the monster has Inkybeard, we can use this device to follow them, even when they’re out of sight.”
“Exactly,” said Pendle. “Except it’s not a monster.”
“Hold on.” Captain Clockheart scratched his head. “You’re saying that the monster is not a monster and this egg is not an egg.”
“That’s right,” said Pendle. “And I strongly suspect that Kidd the cabin boy is not a cabin boy.”
“So am I still me?” asked Captain Clockheart.
“That’s a relief.”
“What about the lair?” said Gadge. “Is that real?”
“All the treasure must be stashed somewhere,” said Pendle.
“So you mean we can still get our loot back?” said Captain Clockheart. “Ah, then I say let us use this egg that’s not an egg to follow this monster that’s not a monster to find the cabin boy who’s not a cabin boy and get the gold … which had better be gold or it’ll have me to answer to!”
4 Impatient readers who just turned to this page are advised to go back and continue reading the story from where you left off.