Hunt for the Panther 3 (9781101610923) (20 page)

Scarlet slept more soundly than she had in ages, lulled by the jungle insect chorus. She probably would have slept right through the next day had an enormous clatter not awoken her around midmorning. She practically fell out of her hammock onto the tree house floor.

“What was that?” Jo sat up in the hammock beside hers.

“The trap!” Ronagh hopped out of her own hammock and ran to the door. “The panther’s back!”

Scarlet looked at her cousin. “Really?”

Jo frowned. “I’d be surprised. After yesterday, he didn’t seem to want anything to do with humans for a long time.” She untangled herself from the hammock and was just helping Scarlet up off the floor when they heard a familiar voice.

“What on earth is going on?” it bellowed. “Josephine? Where are you?”

“Scurvy!” Scarlet cried as Jo’s eyes widened to twice their size. “Your father!”

They ran to the door and looked out. Sure enough, four men were standing below the tree houses, trying to steady the coconut shells and hollow gourds swinging above their heads.

“And my father, too!” Scarlet croaked. It hadn’t occurred to her that the men would hop on a ship and
come find them, but of course it made sense. Uncle Daniel would have gone crazy upon realizing that Jo was gone. The admiral must have had no choice but to bring him to the island. But how much about it had he told him? She peered down at her uncle, remembering his search for a cure for the plague. It was an important mission, but it couldn’t happen here, not on her island. She had to get him off before he discovered anything of interest.

“Uncle Finn and Thomas are back!” Ronagh said. “But what are the other two doing here?”

“Safe to assume they’re going to string us up by our toes.” Scarlet put a steadying hand on Jo’s shoulder as her cousin moaned softly. “Come on.”

She scaled down the swinging ladder and landed in front of the men. Summoning her courage, she looked up at her father. “Hello.”

From his frown, she could tell he was trying very hard not to box her ears.

“Josephine!” Uncle Daniel called up to his daughter, who was climbing down the ladder. “Get down from there! You’ll get hurt! And what on earth are you wearing?”

Jo hopped down onto the dirt, dressed in the outfit she and Sina had made the previous evening. Her dress looked like the one Sina wore, much lighter and easier to move in than her frilly pink frock. Jo had done a fine job, Scarlet thought. But Uncle Daniel’s horrified face indicated that he didn’t agree.

He swept Jo up in a hug. “Josephine, I was so worried! What on earth possessed you to run away? Look at you!
You’re filthy and sunburned and…” He caught sight of her bare feet and cringed. “And where are your
shoes
? You’ll catch your death of cold! I just can’t imagine what’s gotten into you!” He tossed a murderous glare at Scarlet and drew his daughter closer.

Scarlet cheeks burned, and she almost informed him that Jo was just fine, thank you. In fact, she was better than fine. She was strong and healthy and incredibly brave. But this was Jo’s battle to fight, not her own. So she bit her tongue and concentrated on avoiding her own father’s eyes.

“Father,” Jo said, gently pushing him away, “I’m fine. I’m not cold, and I’m not sick. But I am sorry that I ran away. It’s just that Scarlet’s island was in danger. There were pirates invading, and we had to—”

“Pirates!” Uncle Daniel exploded. He turned to his brother. “You didn’t tell me anything about pirates!”

Admiral McCray opened his mouth to speak, but Scarlet interjected. “Don’t be angry with Jo,” she said. “It’s my fault. I don’t know how much my father’s told you about this place, but I’m guessing you know that it’s my home, and that I have a responsibility to protect it.”

Uncle Daniel turned to her. “And that… that just can’t be true! A child, taking care of an island? It’s preposterous!”

Scarlet glanced around to see most of her crew had gathered to listen in. “Not just one child,” she told him. “A crew of children. The bravest and strongest children in all the tropics. And I know it must sound strange to you, but this is what we do. And we do it well. Yesterday
we all banded together to chase some awful swabs off the island.”

Uncle Daniel looked around at the crew. His mouth hung open, but no words came out.

“But it was my fault that Jo ended up here,” Scarlet continued. “So blame me for that, but don’t get angry at her.”

“Or,” the admiral spoke up, “you could just be proud of them both.”

Scarlet drew in her breath, finally daring to look him in the eyes.

“Oh, don’t think I’m not furious with you, daughter,” he said. “You ran away, and you put your cousin’s life in danger. But we’ll deal with that later. Right now, I’m proud of you for defending your home.”

Warmth filled her from head to toe.

Uncle Daniel shook his head. “I… I don’t understand this at all,” he said helplessly, turning to Jo. “All I know is that I want… No, I
need
for you to be safe.”

She gave him a hug. “I am, I promise. I’ve never felt better.”

The admiral cleared his throat and addressed the whole crew. “Now, I know what you’re all thinking. And my brother won’t tell anyone about Island X. Will you, Daniel?”

Daniel opened his mouth, then shut it. He shook his head, still looking confused. But his confusion turned to complete bewilderment when a rustle in the trees made everyone turn. Sina and Kapu emerged to join the crew and froze at the sight of the newcomer.

“Blast!” Scarlet whispered. For even if he
was
her uncle, and even if he promised not to tell anyone, she still didn’t want him to know about the Islanders. It didn’t feel right.

“Is that… ? Are they… ?” he whispered.

“I’ll explain later,” Scarlet’s father told him. “Now, let’s go find some food before we head back.” And he steered his brother off into the clearing.

The crew clustered around Scarlet and Jo.

“Do you think we can trust him?” asked Tim.

“I hope so,” said Scarlet. She glanced at Jo, who nodded.

“I’ll talk to him about it. I’ll make him understand,” she promised.

Scarlet sighed. It wasn’t satisfying—not by a long shot. But it was all she had for the moment.

Jem turned to Uncle Finn. “So, how did you all find each other?” he asked. “And how did you get back here?”

“Well.” Uncle Finn folded his hands over his belly. “Thomas noticed the
Hop
’s absence first thing yesterday morning. We assumed Scarlet had taken it for one reason or another, but to be certain, we tracked down the admiral, and sure enough, she’d disappeared. That was quite the kerfuffle you two caused.” He gave the girls a stern look. “But fortunately, Daniel’s friend Humphries had a sloop anchored in port, so we got his permission to borrow it for a few days.”

“Humphries.” Scarlet shuddered at the thought of Ben’s future father-in-law. At least he hadn’t insisted on coming himself.

“Do you know him?” asked Uncle Finn, and Scarlet nodded. “Well then, you’ll be happy to know that he’s the proud owner of a brand-new head of hair.”

“Dark as night and silky smooth,” added Thomas.

“He was my best test subject yet,” finished Uncle Finn.

Scarlet wrinkled her nose, trying to picture it. “Really?”

“So the human tests were a success?” asked Jem.

“That’s an understatement,” said Uncle Finn. “Port Aberhard is now simply crawling with abnormally hairy pirates! It’s a thing of wonder!”

“Congratulations.” Jem grinned.

“Humphries himself is actually very interested in the results. In fact, he offered to help cultivate the plants, when the time comes to sell the cure. He wants to dedicate a few acres of his plantation entirely to bromeliads. He thinks it’ll be a very—”

“Lucrative business.” Scarlet rolled her eyes. Of course he did.

“Well, I won’t be ready to think about that for a while,” said Uncle Finn. “First, I have to present my findings to the High Commission on Neotropical Plantlife.” He turned to Jem and put his hands on his nephew’s shoulders. “This is it, boy. The study is over. We’re going home!”

Jem’s mouth fell open. Scarlet’s followed suit.

“Home?” Jem repeated. “To the Old World?”

“Well, the High Commission isn’t going to come to us.” Uncle Finn laughed. “I’m going to book our passage
as soon as we get back to port. Hopefully we can ship out in the next week or so. I’ll need to make sure I’ve got all the samples I can carry, and Thomas will have to…”

Uncle Finn kept prattling on about his plans, but Scarlet stopped listening.

Jem was going home.

How could she let him go home?

Jo, on the other hand, was beaming. “You’ll get your books back,” she said. “And that shortbread you’ve been wanting. And we’ll get to see each other when I get back!”

“But… but… you can’t go,” Scarlet sputtered. “Not now. Not with Lucas and Captain Wallace out there.” Her voice caught in her throat.

“Well, children,” said Uncle Finn. “This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment. And you all helped, in some way. Aren’t you thrilled?”

“Thrilled,” Jo said sincerely.

“I’m over the moon.” Scarlet glowered.

Jem stayed quiet.

Uncle Finn nodded. “Well, I’m off to find some food. What a week this has been!” He and Thomas set off for the clearing, leaving Scarlet, Jem, and Jo standing under the noisemaker trap.

“Look, we’ll figure something out,” Jem said, although his voice sounded shaky. “I’m sure… I’m sure we can come up with a good plan.”

“Right,” Scarlet said, although she didn’t believe him for a second. Trouble was brewing, she could just feel it.

She turned on her heel and marched off into the jungle.

Amulet:
an object worn, often as a piece of jewelry around the neck, to ward off evil

Blimey
: an expression of frustration or surprise as in, “Remember when you dropped the anchor on my foot? Blimey, that hurt!”

Broadsword
: a large, heavy sword with a broad blade

Buccaneer
: a pirate. The term
buccaneer
comes from a French word (
boucanier
) which means “barbecuer.” In the 1600s, buccaneers were humble men who sold barbecued meats to sailors passing through ports. Eventually they realized the opportunity passing them by and gave up their grills to make their fortunes by pillaging and plundering.

Careen
: to lean a ship on one side for cleaning or repairing

Castaway
: a person lucky enough to survive a shipwreck and wash ashore, hopefully not on the Island of Smelly Wild Pigs

Crow’s nest
: the lookout platform near the top of a mast, not the best place for pirates afraid of heights

Cutlass
: a short, curved sword with a single cutting edge, a pirate’s best friend

Doubloon
: a Spanish gold coin, similar to the chocolate variety, but less tasty

Drivelswigger
: a pirate who spends too much time reading about all things nautical

Flotsam
: floating debris or rubbish

Fo’c’sle
: the raised part of the upper deck at the front of a ship, also called the forecastle

Gun deck
: the deck on which the ship’s cannons are carried

Jack-tar
: a sailor

Keelhaul
: the worst possible punishment on board a ship. The offender’s hands are bound to a rope that runs underneath the ship, and he is thrown overboard and dragged from one end to the other.

Long drop
: the Lost Souls’ own term for the toilet

Mast
: a long pole that rises from the ship’s deck and supports the sails

Piece of eight
: a Spanish silver coin

Plank
: the piece of wood that hangs off the side of the ship, like a soon-to-be-dead-man’s diving board. Unlucky sailors must walk it to their doom.

Plunder
: to steal, or an act of thievery

Poop deck
: the highest deck at the stern of a ship. It has nothing to do with the long drop, by the way.

Port
: a sailor’s word for
left

Quarterdeck
: the rear part of the upper deck at the front of a ship

Quartermaster
: usually the second-in-command on a ship

Scalawag
: a rascal, rogue, scoundrel, or general mischief-maker

Schooner
: a ship with two or more masts. One explanation suggests that the name comes from the Scottish term “to scoon,” which means “to skim upon the surface.”

Scuttle
: a word used by the Lost Souls to describe something awful as in, “Hardtack for breakfast again? That scuttles!”

Sloop
: a small, single-mast ship

Spyglass
: a much more intriguing name for a small telescope

Starboard
: a sailor’s word for
right

Swain
: a short form of
boatswain,
meaning a sailor of the lowest rank, more of a servant