Voyage of the Dolphin (7 page)

It was a typical farmhouse scene. In a huge fireplace at one end was a black pot containing some kind of bubbling stew. There was rough wooden furniture, all handmade. There was only one window to let in light.

Gant spoke rapidly to his wife, telling her how he had found the “Little People.”

Josh discovered he was quickly remembering his Middle English. When Gant turned back, he motioned until the giant leaned toward him. “Could we have something to eat?” he shouted. “We're hungry.”

Gant turned to his wife and said, “Feed them.”

She looked at them and asked, “In what?”

It was a problem, but they managed to find what was presumably the smallest vessels they had.

Josh and Sarah moved to one side of a bowl of stew, while Dave and Jake got on the other side. “Well, we don't have any spoons,” Josh said, “so I guess we'll do the best we can.”

The stew contained some sort of meat and vegetables and was actually very good.

Dawn, eating at another bowl beside Daybright, suddenly looked down at her hands and laughed. “I never ate like this before,” she marveled, “but it's so good.”

“It is a little messy—” Daybright grinned “—but we'll make the best of it. And it
is
good stew.”

After they had eaten, the giant and his family pulled up chairs, and for a long time, with much shouting, Josh tried to explain where they had come from. But he turned finally and shrugged his shoulders. “It's no use. They think this island is the whole world. They can't imagine there being another place—especially with strange little people in it like us.”

“Ask him if he'll help us get away. We'll need a ship,” Daybright asked.

When Josh asked the question, Gant cricked his head to one side. “A ship? What is a ship?”

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” Daybright muttered. “Tell him it's something you get into and go on the water.”

Josh did his best to explain, and Gant seemed to understand a little better. After the giant spoke for quite a while, Josh said, “I think they have little boats here, maybe for their rivers. Of course, they'd be big to us. I don't think they have any ocean-going vessels, though.”

“That's bad news. Ask him if he can help us build one.”

This was a difficult concept to get across, but at last Gant said that he would help. At least that's what Josh thought he said.

It was getting late, and they were very tired.

Gant said, “We will fix you a place to stay.”

The “place” turned out to be a cage. It was clean though, and Olina seemed to take great pleasure in making them beds out of rags.

When Josh protested that they didn't want to sleep in a cage, Gant pointed over to a corner where an enormous cat was watching with slitted green eyes.

“Cat would think you were a mouse—eat you.” The giant laughed heartily, and the force of his laughter nearly knocked Josh off the table.

“Well, then, I guess it's all right.”

“But, please,” Sarah asked, “could you put up a piece of something so that the girls could have one part of the cage, Olina?”

Olina understood finally what she was asking, and she got her father to put a piece of thin board most of the way across the middle of the cage. Then the giant girl pointed
at the extra clothes that the Sleepers had brought with them. She said, “I will wash clothes.”

“Well, that's nice of her,” Abbey said. She gave her extra dress to the girl, and the others handed over their bundles of clothing.

Olina beamed. “I will wash very nice,” she said.

Finally the giants went to bed, and the Sleepers were left alone.

The partition was in place, but the young men were very much aware of the girls around the corner.

“Don't worry,” Daybright called. “We'll get out of this all right.”

Josh was sitting with his back against the board. He knocked on it. “Sarah? You there?”

Sarah, on the other side, tapped and said, “Yes.”

Josh said, “Well, here we go again. We've been in lots of jails, but these jailers are a little bit different.”

The two talked quietly, but, since everyone could hear them, they had little personal to say.

Finally Dawn said, “They're so
big.
I'm afraid of them.”

“It's all relative,” Jake said airily. “Don't you worry, Miss Dawn. They're nice folks. You see how the girl's washing our clothes for us.”

Something seemed to be bothering Abbey, though. “Yes,” she said, “but she thinks we're like dolls. I don't think they're able to think of us as people at all. There's too much difference.”

Wash thought for a while and said, “Well, that does make a problem. When people are different, they have a hard time understanding each other.”

But finally all settled down to sleep, and the last thing Josh remembered was being held high in the air, looking into the eyes of a giant.

W
ell, we're not going to starve to death, that's for sure.”

The Sleepers and the captain, with Dawn at his side, sat at the makeshift table that Olina had made for their use. It was a board placed on two blocks, and it was set on the large table that served the family. The seats were bits of wood.

“At least,” Josh said, “we don't have to eat out of the same bowl.”

Olina was bringing their food. She glowed as she bent over with a huge bowl of scrambled eggs. After putting it down, she took the bits of wood that Reb had carved into round shapes and carefully put a spoonful of eggs on each.

Reb picked up his spoon and waved it. “Why, shoot! This ain't half bad,” he said. “Always did like scrambled eggs.”

Olina smiled at the boy. She leaned over so close that her face looked enormous. Then she hovered nearby, watching.

The group ate, breaking off chunks of the piece of bread that Olina had put before them.

When they had finished, Sarah stood up and smiled, waving her hand at the giant child. “Olina! We're so dirty. Could you possibly fix us something to take a bath in?”

“Bath?” The girl thought hard, then nodded. “Yes. I will fix it.”

“Well, this is liable to be embarrassing.” Sarah laughed
shortly. “She may want to plunk us all down in one big bowl and wash us as she would a doll.”

It proved not to be that difficult, however. Olina obviously had learned that Little People girls needed their privacy from Little People boys. She came back with two long, deep cooking pans. Quickly she piled boxes between the two pans, forming a sort of curtain. Then she brought a kettle of water and filled each pan to the top.

“Hot!” she warned.

“Do you have any soap—and maybe something to dry off on?” Abbey shouted.

Olina smiled. She came back with a large chunk of strong-smelling white soap and broke it in two, putting half beside each pan. One more trip served to bring some cloths that would do as towels and washcloths.

Placing the three girls on their side, she nodded. “I wash your other clothes.” She took the clothes and disappeared.

“Well, this is about as much privacy as we are going to get,” Abbey said. “I feel so dirty. That water looks good to me.” She reached over the lip of the huge pan to check the temperature. “Just right.” She grinned. “Last one in's a rotten egg.”

It was a strange time for Dawn Catalina. She was far more accustomed to having her bath drawn by servants and then her back being scrubbed by maids. Afterward, she would step out onto a soft rug and be dried with fluffy towels.

Not so this time! She was dirty and gritty, including her hair, which was stiff with saltwater. But soon she was in the pan, which was as large as some swimming pools, and the three girls were laughing and splashing water on each other. The soap was strong and far too large, but they managed to break off enough to work up a nice lather. Then they helped each other wash their hair.

Sarah noticed that Dawn had relaxed a great deal in their company, and she thought,
I think this experience might be good for her
—
if we get out of it. Make her a little bit more democratic.

Across the barricade, the boys splashed and sputtered and washed and had just pulled on their clothes when Olina's huge moonlike face appeared.

“She don't give a guy much privacy,” Jake muttered.

But she had a set of their clothes washed and dried.

“You girls all right?” Jake yelled.

Sarah's voice came back. “Yes. How about you?”

“Cleaner'n a whistle.”

“Well, what do we do with ourselves now? We've eaten and had our baths.” Josh walked to the edge of the barricade and met Sarah, who was trying to comb out her hair with her fingers. “You're going to have a tangled mess,” he said. “You need a brush.”

“I know it,” Sarah said. “We all do. Do you think Reb might whittle us a comb of some kind out of some wood? Anything would do.”

Reb was prevailed upon, and he did manage to make a comb of sorts. It was thick and awkward, but the three girls shared it and soon were looking fairly presentable.

Then Olina appeared suddenly again with a huge box in her hands. Without asking permission, she reached down and scooped up Jake.

“Hey! Put me down!”

Olina did put him down—inside the box. The others were immediately placed in the box as well, and Olina said, “We go play now.”

“I guess we don't have any choice,” Dave said, holding onto the side of the carton.

Olina held the box before her and went outside, where the sun was shining and the clouds were white against the
blue sky. She set down the box underneath a towering tree; then one by one she picked up the Little People and set them on the ground.

“This grass is high,” Dave complained.

The grass was nearly up to their chests. It was worn flat around the giants' cabin, however, and for a time they explored.

“Hey! Look at this,” Reb called.

Everyone came running and saw that he had found a huge beetle creeping along. It was higher than his head and at least six or eight feet across.

“Oh, it looks awful,” Abbey said.

“Naw, it looks like fun.” Reb grinned. He leaped on the beetle's back and began kicking the hard armored side with his heel. “Get up! Let's go! Have a little speed here!”

The others laughed, and Josh shook his head. “Reb, I believe you'd try to ride anything.”

The young Southerner grinned. “Well, this thing's got two more feet than most hosses—but anything for a ride.”

They watched for a while, then all took turns riding the beetle. It seemed placid enough and lumbered along safely.

Olina hovered over them, shutting out the sun sometimes with her shadow. Her laughter sounded like thunder.

After a while she took them down to a creek and set them down.

“This thing's wider than the Mississippi River—to us anyway,” Dave marveled.

It was a beautiful stream, though—clear water ran over rounded rocks—and Wash said, “Let's go fishing.”

The idea caught fire at once, and they spent a considerable amount of time obtaining the proper gear. Olina, at their request, found thread, which furnished the line. Her
mother had some sharp pins, which, by great effort, Reb bent into hooks.

When they had cut the smallest saplings they could find, Reb said, “But what'll we use for bait?”

Wash looked about. “I don't know … the worms here'd be big enough to eat us, almost. Let's just ask Olina for some of that stew meat that we had yesterday.”

The girls didn't want to fish, but the boys all clamored to go. Finally out on a grassy bank, they baited their hooks and threw them in.

The current carried the lines downstream, and almost at once Wash's cork, which was nothing but a piece of wood, disappeared with a
plop.

“I got one!” he yelled. “I got one!” The line zipped through the water, and his pole bent double. “It must be a whale!” he said excitedly. He struggled with the fish, and everyone gathered around, calling encouragement.

Finally Wash backed up and, with a mighty heave, dragged the fish up on the shore.

“That thing must weigh twenty pounds!” he cried. “Look at it!”

“Some kind of a perch, I guess. One of the little ones,” Reb said. He picked up a stick and knocked the fish on the head so that it would stop flopping. “That's enough to feed all of us.” he said.

They fished all afternoon, spread up and down the bank. Sometimes fish that were simply too big and powerful grabbed line and pole and dragged them off.

Josh jerked up his head when he heard a wild scream from one of the girls.

Throwing his pole down, he ran full speed, joined by the other boys. When he passed over a small knob of earth, he saw that Dawn was faced by a frighteningly large snake that was coiled and had its beady eyes fixed on her.

Josh hesitated. If there was anything he didn't like and was afraid of, it was snakes! He knew the others were awed by the size of the reptile too. It must have been at least thirty feet long and had a wicked look about it.

Then Captain Daybright suddenly appeared and, without breaking stride, got between the girl and the hissing serpent. It made a picture that Josh would ever forget—the huge, green snake with beady eyes and fangs exposed and Daybright standing there, his blue eyes flashing. He had a staff in his hand, his only weapon.

“Get away from here, Dawn,” he said under his breath.

Breathing hard, she began to back off.

The serpent, sensing its prey leaving, drew back its neck in a striking coil.

Daybright was holding the staff by one end. He held the other out toward the snake—a pitiful weapon but all that he had.

“He's gonna strike! Watch out, Captain!” Wash yelled.

The snake's strike came like a flash. The head flew forward, fangs out, ready to impale the stalwart sailor.

The snake had timed its strike perfectly; but instead of the fangs burying themselves in flesh, the staff caught the reptile directly on the nose and broke its strike. At once Daybright swung the staff in a mighty sweep. It came smashing down on one of the snake's eyes, which dulled immediately. With a hiss the serpent coiled backward, writhing.

At the same moment, a huge stick came down from above and crashed onto the snake.

Josh looked up to see the girl Olina, her eyes flashing as she wielded her club again and again. “Bad snake!” she said.

“Look out! She's fainting!” Sarah called.

Captain Daybright turned to see Dawn Catalina slowly
collapsing. Dropping the staff, he scooped her up and carried her quickly away from the dying snake.

Lowering her to the grass, he said, “Dawn, are you all right?” He pushed her hair back, an anxious look on his face.

Her face was pale. She lay in his arms for a moment as the others gathered around.

“Is she all right?” Josh asked.

“I think so—just fainted,” Daybright answered.

Dawn came to herself after a few moments. She seemed confused. But the first face she saw was that of Daybright, looking down at her anxiously, and for the first time she called his name. “Daybright,” she said, and then she started, as though memory of the snake had come back.

“It's all right. It's dead. How do you feel?”

Dawn's cheeks flushed as she found herself being held in Daybright's strong arms. “I'm … I'm all right.” She looked up at him and whispered, “You saved my life.”

Daybright flushed as well. “I guess Olina saved both our lives.” He waved an arm at the giant girl. “Thanks!” he shouted.

Olina bent over. “You all right, Little Woman?”

“Yes.” Dawn smiled and got to her feet rather shakily. “I'm all right. Thank you, Olina.”

“We'd better go play somewhere else,” she announced solemnly. “Snakes are bad.”

Olina led her little troop away to a pond, where she found a flat board. It made a nice boat for two. Wash rigged up a mast and sail, and they spent the rest of the afternoon going around the smooth pond.

They saw no more snakes, and Dawn stayed very close to Daybright's side.

“Look at the size of those ducks,” she said. “They're huge.”

“Not in this world,” Daybright said. “They
would
be in our world.” He admired the white feathers of the ducks, and when the birds flew off, he said, “We could almost ride on those.”

Dawn laughed shortly. “No, thanks. I've had enough adventures for a while.”

“This has been hard on you, Dawn. I know you're not used to such things.”

She shook her head. “It's been hard on all of us,” she said simply. Then her face darkened. “I'll never forget that snake. It would have killed me sure, if you hadn't come. How could you ever face it?”

“It was no more dangerous than a storm at sea.” Daybright put the matter aside and looked at her, laughing and changing the subject. “I'll bet you've never gone so long without a new dress in all your life, have you?”

Dawn looked down at her dress, which was wrinkled and torn in several places. “You know,” she said thoughtfully, “it doesn't seem to matter as much anymore. I guess everything is seen in comparison with something else. Back home I had so many new things I didn't appreciate any of them. That's how life is. When you have so much, you just don't appreciate it.”

“Hunger makes a good appetite,” the captain said. “When you're full, nothing tastes really good; but when you're hungry, one egg is the best thing in all the world.”

They sat talking for a long time until finally Olina called, “Time to go home!” As the giant girl wrapped her chubby hands around them and lifted them up, Daybright grinned and winked at Dawn. “I guess you can get used to anything—even being picked up by a child in one hand.”

For the rest of that week, Olina made clothes for all her guests. They were made of the finest cloth she could find, but when Dawn put hers on, she laughed outright.
“It's like dressing in a blanket,” she exclaimed. But she thanked Olina for it, curtsying, and the girl's face beamed.