Edgar looked around. He was outside the harbour. The closest land was the jagged rocks he had seen earlier. They looked a long way away.
He started to swim to the rocks.
He hoped that Mary would be able to turn the ship around. The tide was pulling him towards the rocks and soon he found he had swum half way there.
He trod water for a few moments, looking back to see where the ship was. He could see it in the distance.
It was turning round!
But as he looked harder, his heart sank. Mary was not at the wheel. Nobody was. And that meant that the ship was turning itself around.
In a few seconds the ship was pointing right at Edgar. It began to cross the waves, coming towards him.
It’s coming to get me! Edgar thought. He was very scared.
Edgar kicked his feet hard and swam towards the rocks as fast as he could. But he was getting tired, so he was moving more slowly.
He looked over his shoulder and saw that the ship was racing through the water, helped along by the tide.
He kicked again. This time, one of his feet hit something hard.
“Rocks!” shouted Edgar.
He looked down through the water and saw that he was swimming above a huge, sharp flake of rock.
Edgar followed the ridge of the rock with his feet. It was just under the surface of the water. Then it started dipping away again.
He swam as fast as he could. He had to reach the rocks before the ship got him.
Edgar looked back and saw that the ghost ship was close behind him. The ship seemed to loom over him. It looked huge.
Edgar knew it would hit him in a few seconds. He saw Mary leaning over the side of the ship. She was waving and shouting at him to get out of the way.
At least she’s still alive, he thought as he closed his eyes.
The next thing he heard was an ear-splitting, scraping, screeching crunch.
The ship screamed as it hit the hidden rocks and was cut open. It tipped over to one side. Mr Blood, Mary and Tom all fell into the water.
“The rocks!” yelled Edgar. “Swim for those rocks! Get away from the ship!”
The four of them swam for their lives. Edgar helped pull Tom along and Mary helped Mr Blood.
At last they scrambled onto the rocks. A loud crack like a cannon shot made them all jump and turn.
The ghost ship had snapped in two. With a final groan it sank beneath the waves.
“Well done, Edgar,” said Mr Blood. “We could not sail the ship. But when you swam to the rocks, the ship came after you. You were very brave.”
“And look!” said Mary. “A boat is coming from the harbour to pick us up.”
