The mechanical bird’s large wings allowed it to glide elegantly through the air. Twitter watched jealously as it flew down, leaving a white trail of vapour in its wake. It landed gracefully on the side of the ship.
“Blimey, am I glad to find you lot! I’ve been flying for weeks. Do a bird a favour and give us something to nibble on, would you?” said the albatross.
Captain Clockheart popped open his stomach, pulled out a piece of glowing coal and threw it into the air. The albatross jumped up and caught it in its beak. “Ah, that’s better. Thanks. The name’s Coleridge, but me friends call me Ridgey.”
Twitter hopped along the rail.
“All right, little fella. Admiring the old wingspan, are you? That’s three metres of wing right there, that is.” Ridgey stretched out his huge wings.
“Show off!” muttered Twitter. “Show off!”
Pendle leaned forward to inspect the bird. “A steam-powered albatross. Who made you, then?” she asked.
“The same geezer that made this lot. Old Swifty of course,” responded Ridgey.
“Mr Richmond Swift?” said Pendle.
“Our creator!” gasped Gadge.
“That no-good scallywag,” snarled Captain Clockheart. “He made us as servants for the king. If it hadn’t been for Pendle, we’d still be carrying trays of party food and washing dishes.”
“Ah, but without him we wouldn’t have our lives at all,” said Lexi. “Ours is a complicated relationship, similar to that between—”
Captain Clockheart whacked Lexi on the back of the head, shutting him down. “I don’t like complicated things.” He turned to Ridgey. “So why did he make you, then?”
“I was a guard bird at the Tower of London.”
“You’re a long way from London now,” said Pendle.
Ridgey looked at the cabin boy meaningfully. “So are you, chum.”
“We’re not talking about me,” Pendle replied quickly. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here for the same reason as the rest of you,” said Ridgey. “Freedom.”
“Click, how do you know about us?” asked Mainspring.
“Know about you? Swifty used to go on about you lot all the time. He was furious when you took off. As an apology to the king, he created me to guard the crown jewels.”
A jet of steam escaped from Captain Clockheart’s head as he moved closer to the albatross. “Say that again.”
“What? The crown jewels?” said Ridgey.
There was a fluttering noise as Lexi came back to life and his word-wheel started up again. “The crown jewels,” he said. “A collection of valuable items owned by the King of England.” He looked around, confused. “I say, I really wish you wouldn’t switch me off like that.”
“Never mind that,” said the captain. He turned back to the albatross. “Tell me more about this treasure.”
“It’s all kept in a room at the top of a big tower surrounded by armed guards,” replied Ridgey. “No one in their right mind would think of stealing it… That is, unless they knew someone who could get them inside. Someone like me.”
“We like the sound of a room full of treasure, don’t we, lads?” The captain’s clock hand whizzed around excitedly.
The crew cheered but Lexi looked concerned. “The Tower of London is the most well protected place in the whole of England.”
“Which means they’ll never expect it,” said Gadge.
“What about the damage from the storm?” asked Pendle. “Shouldn’t we get the ship in working order first?”
“We’ll repair her on the way,” said Captain Clockheart. “Quartermaster Lexi, plot a course for England.”
“Aye, sir, although with a broken rudder and torn sails it may take longer than it should,” replied Lexi.
First Mate Mainspring sighed. “Click, and so our captain puts us all in danger again. Tick, sailing a broken ship into a potential death trap. Tock, when will he learn?”
“Don’t listen to old clickerty-tick-tocks,” said Ridgey. “You’re Captain Clockheart, ain’t you? Them crown jewels are as good as yours.”
The captain patted Ridgey then fed him a handful of wood shavings from his pocket. “Twitter, you could learn a lot from this albatross. Now, let’s get some wind in those sails, lads. We’re off to England!”
Twitter flew up to the crow’s nest to sulk while the captain ordered the crew to work.
Pendle followed Lexi to the ship’s compass. Like everything else on the ship it had been badly damaged by the storm.
“I don’t like this one bit,” said Pendle. “I don’t trust that albatross and this ship needs a lot of work before it can outrun one of the duke’s warships.”
“I quite agree,” said Lexi. “But you know what the captain is like once he gets an idea in that tin-pot head of his.” The wheel on his head clicked as it turned. “Even if it is an idea that will most likely get us all melted down … dismantled … killed.”
