‘I think the varmint’s going down into the hold,’ whispered the Reverend as Percy tiptoed up behind him. Hidden behind a large barrel, they watched the sailor rummage around in the gloom.
‘What’s he looking for?’ the clergyman muttered.
‘We should go and tell Mr Augustin,’ Percy suggested in an urgent undertone.
‘And what good would that do now? The Lord knows what mischief the scoundrel could be up to in the time it takes us to get back up top. He could well blow up the deuced ship.’
‘Aye, ah cannae imagine the bampot be gaun fer a jobbie.’ The small voice came from directly behind them, causing both men to jump and swing round in sudden panic.
‘What the devil do you think you’re doing, Finn?’ the Reverend quizzed in a furious whisper. ‘You nearly gave me a deuced apoplexy.’
Percy groaned. ‘I told you to stay with Miss Carew.’
‘Ah cannae dae that, Da. Ye might need ma help.’
The curate was about to argue when a sudden noise had all three of them turning back towards their quarry, just in time to see him pull out a large knife from underneath a stack of what looked like old sailcloths.
‘Thunder an’ turf,’ Reverend Shackleford muttered, ‘what the deuce is he going to do with that?’
‘Be he gaunnae cut off somebody’s head?’ Finn asked, his voice a mixture of fear and ghoulish excitement.
‘Shut up, Finn.’ The heated whispers came back in unison.
As they watched, the sailor stepped towards the ladder leading down into the hold. ‘I was right,’ the Reverend crowed. ‘But he’ll need more than a deuced knife to blow up the ship. What’s the varmint up to? Come on.’
Percy gave a small moan as he tiptoed after the Reverend. ‘You stay here, Finn,’ he whispered, though his tone clearly indicated he thought there was more chance of hell freezing over.
As they reached the ladder leading down into the hold, the Reverend got down on his hands and knees, then, grabbing hold of Percy’s cassock to stop him falling headfirst into the gaping hole, he slid onto his stomach.
‘What on earth are you doing, Sir?’ the curate asked in a panicked whisper.
‘I’m going to have a quick look at what the blackguard’s up to. Get ready Percy, we might need to move quickly.’ The curate looked down disbelievingly, thinking it might actually take them the rest of the trip to get the Reverend up off the floor. Even worse, the goosecap was now inching forward to hang his head down through the hole.
Hurriedly, the curate knelt down and took hold of the Reverend’s legs, indicating Finn should sit on his ample bottom.
‘Ouch, careful,’ Augustus Shackleford whispered heatedly, ‘I don’t want to end up with splinters in me nutmegs.’
As he slowly inched forward, Percy’s feeling of dread increased. ‘Can you see anything yet?’ he hissed as the Reverend’s chest slid down level with the ladder.
There was a brief silence, followed by a strangled sound. ‘Tare an’ hounds, the deuced varmint’s trying to cut the tiller ropes,’ came the hoarse whisper. ‘We’ve got to stop him else none of us will make it to France.’
‘What can we do, Sir?’ Percy uttered a small moan as the Reverend slid down further until Finn’s feet were dangling in midair over the edge of the hole.
‘I can’t hold you much longer,’ Percy groaned. ‘You need to come back up, Sir… Finn, what the devil are you doing?’
The boy’s feet had found purchase on the first rung of the ladder, allowing him to stand. ‘You pull the Revren’ back up, Da,’ he whispered excitedly, ‘an’ ah’ll goan gie that bampot a skelpit lug he’ll niver forget.’
‘No, lad, it’s too dangerous,’ Percy hissed just as Finn accidentally trod on the Reverend’s fingers, which were gripping the first rung as though his life depended on it – which it probably did. A stifled moan drifted up.
‘Sorry, Revren,’ the boy muttered, trying to find the next rung down with his other foot and inadvertently kicking the clergyman’s ear in the process.
In the meantime, the sawing sound continued apace.
In desperation, Percy threw himself on top of his superior, clutching the flailing legs as they both slid inexorably towards the opening, inch by agonising inch.
Just when it looked as though all three of them were going to become intimately acquainted with the deck below, a small whirlwind of fur appeared at the top of the hole and gave a short bark.
Hearing the noise, Taffy looked back and nearly jumped out of his skin as he caught sight of what looked like a giant bat hanging upside down on the ladder.
