The Island of Destiny (27 page)

His enthusiasm was temporarily put on hold when a loud cry echoed down from the rigging.

‘Cat Fish ahoy!' Fred bellowed. ‘Make haste!'

‘Cat Fish!' Pete yelped, almost breaking another lead. ‘Where?'

‘At the top of the cliff,' Horace cried, rushing to the side of the deck. ‘Seven of them.'

‘There can't be seven of them,' Pete snapped. ‘There are only six Cat Fish.'

‘There are definitely seven,' Horace insisted. ‘Look, there they are, running along. Six little cats followed by one big one.'

‘That's not a cat, you blind bandicoot,' Pete shouted, raising a telescope to his eye. ‘That's a bear!'

‘BEAR?' Rat Bait exclaimed, waking up in the commotion. ‘Bear? Where?'

‘Calm down, Rat Bait,' Whisker said, rushing over to him. ‘The bear's on the island. You're on the
Apple Pie
. We're all perfectly safe.'

‘Unless you're a Cat Fish,' Pete sniggered as the seven figures on the cliff disappeared into a clump of pine trees.

‘Arrr, me head,' Rat Bait groaned, trying to sit up. ‘It feels like I knocked me noggin' on a pile o' rocks.'

‘That's not too far from the truth,' Whisker remarked.

Rat Bait glanced around him, trying to fathom what had happened.

‘Did ye find the treasure then, Whisker?' he asked. ‘What be it?'

‘A book,' Whisker replied.

‘Oh,' Rat Bait said, somewhat surprised. ‘What kind o' book? Adventure? Romance? I be partial to a bit o' romance, ye know.'

He winked at Whisker and then tilted his head in Ruby's direction. Whisker felt his cheeks turning red.

‘Non-fiction,' he blurted out. ‘It's all non-fiction. It's filled with maps and Rubycies – I-I mean recipes … and stuff.'

Whisker felt like crawling into a cannon and lighting the fuse. Ruby acted like she hadn't heard him and pretended to tie a knot, with a suppressed smile.

‘Aye,' Rat Bait said, clearly impressed. ‘The treasure be a book o' some use then.' He reached into his pocket. ‘Speaking o' treasure, young Whisker, I still owe ye three pieces of gold for locatin' the chest.'

He pulled out three gold coins and flicked them to Whisker. Whisker caught one with each paw and the third with his tail.

The gold felt surprisingly light to touch, but Whisker knew his limbs had grown strong during his time as an apprentice. He glanced down at the coin in his left paw, expecting to see the banana seal of Aladrya. Instead he saw the unfamiliar design of two paws inside a diamond.

‘Freeforian gold,' Rat Bait explained. ‘I spent all the Capt'n's gold on retirement real estate.'

‘I didn't know Freeforia had a currency,' Whisker said, confused. ‘My mother grew up there. Goods were always exchanged by barter.'

‘Times are a' changin',' Rat Bait said. ‘Rumour has it that Freeforia has a new gold mine. I been hearin' the news from the trader that gave me these coins. Strange fellow he was, a fox with no name, wearin' a long black coat …' He drifted off for a moment, before continuing with his usual enthusiasm.

‘I told him I was lookin' to trade me trusty sloop for a smaller boat for me retirement an' he said he had somethin' on offer. The boat be in a pretty bad state, mind you, an' I ummed and arred for some time. He finally threw in a bag ‘o Freeforian coins and the deal was done. As a ship repairer, I had no trouble fixin' up the wee vessel, an' look at her now, a golden beauty.'

‘So the yellow boat we're towing is yours?' Whisker said.

‘Aye, it is,' Rat Bait replied, leading Whisker to the stern of the ship. ‘Isn't she something? She has the sturdiest hull I've seen in years – strong enough to survive a cyclone. And look at that carved anchor on the bow. Now that's crafts-rat-ship.'

Rat Bait turned to Whisker for a response. Whisker stood rooted to the spot, his eyes transfixed on the boat, his paw clutching his anchor pendant.

The boat shone like gold in the afternoon sunshine. But all Whisker could see was red.

‘Are ye alright?' Rat Bait asked.

Whisker struggled to find the words.

‘Y-your boat,' he gasped in shock. ‘I-it belonged to my father …'

Every four years, the greatest pirate crews on the seven seas gather for an epic tournament of strength and skill.

In the Pirate Cup, there is no silver and no bronze, only gold, gold, gold for the winning team, and the legendary Trophy of Champions.

As an official entrant, Whisker has more on his mind than victory. He is on the trail of a fox in a long black coat – and an answer …

Discover more about the Pie Rats at:

www.pierats.com.au