Maria Beyond the Sea

Out the Porthole

'Escape?' cried Maria. 'I never left a ship with a stranger. And if Sakharine finds out, I'll be punished'.

'Beaten to make you miserable', Tintin scowled. 'Listen, Maria. You don't belong with these men. You belong on the mainland with people like me. You need freedom and maybe medical treatment. And this could be your chance to be happy. Don't want to be happy?'

'If I can learn how to read, then I'll be happy'.

Tintin smiled. 'I'll find you a tutor. No', he said (having second thoughts), 'I shall be your tutor'.

Now, it was Maria's turn to embrace Tintin. Quickly, she hugged him and said thank you. Tintin stiffened for a while; he didn't expect Maria to hug him but eventually he gave in. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gently circled her back with his fingertips.

'Then, it's settled', he concluded. 'You come with me and solve this mystery. In return, I'll teach you to read and write. Now, to work'.

They broke their embrace and in a rush Tintin locked the door with a crow bar and a wooden lid to cover the window. Straight away, he pushed one of the crates toward a port hole. Standing on top of it, Tintin kept a steady balance and opened the window. He ducked his head out and looked above the ship. Maria watched him working. Snowy had other ideas; he still wanted attention from Maria. He knew she couldn't resist another fuss. So, Maria stroked him behind his ear. It was his weak spot. He moaned very loudly, setting Maria off into fits of laughter.

When he climbed back in, Tintin couldn't help himself. 'Getting acquainted?' he asked.

'We're already acquainted', she replied.

Suddenly, the three friends heard shouting on the other side of the door. 'It's not stuck, you idiot! He's bungee it from the inside. Do you want to play like that them, Tintin? Get the TNT'.

'Uh, oh', Maria responded.

But Tintin said nothing. Instead he scanned around the room. 'Broken crates, broken bottles, champagne. What else do we have Snowy?'

'Well', Maria answered, 'you have some rope'; she held some in front, to show him. 'Also, you can tie it to a broken crate but that –'

'That's it!' Tintin shouted. In a hurry he ripped off some planks of wood and tied it together with a long piece of rope.

Then, the pair jetted off to the porthole, where Maria suddenly heard singing. That's odd, she thought. But there was no time to answer questions. Tintin told Maria to grab his legs. She obeyed and holding to him tightly, Tintin began to swing the crates and rope. Like a cowboy, he lassoed the rope to the top. He missed the first time: the planks fell on top of his head. Tintin tried again. This time with success. Quickly, he climbed outside.

'Maria, pass Snowy to me'. Maria passed him to Tintin. 'See if you can follow me'.

Maria followed Tintin as he climbed up to the top. She made it out of the porthole and up the rope when she heard a loud explosion. The sound was at medium volume, though. It didn't frighten her; instead she kept on climbing.

By the time she reached the top, Maria noticed another porthole in front of her. The planks of wood had disappeared but Tintin and Snowy were already inside a cabin. As she climbed in, Maria heard screaming.

'A giant rattan Sumatra!'