A High Wind in Jamaica

Chp. 19

  “Tell us what you remember about the capture, will you?” he asked, still of Margaret.

  “The what?”

  “Of how the pirates captured the Clorinda .”

  She looked round nervously and laughed, but said nothing.

  “The monkey was in the rigging, so they just came on the ship,” Rachel volunteered.

  “Did they—er—fight with the sailors? Did you see them hit anybody? Or threaten anybody?”

  “Yes!” cried Edward, and jumped up from his chair, his eyes wide and inspired. “ Bing! Bang! Bong! ” he declared, thumping the seat at each word; then sat down again.

  “They didn’t,” said Emily. “Don’t be silly, Edward.”

  “Bing, bang, bong,” he repeated, with less conviction.

  “ Bung! ” contributed Harry to his support, from under the arm of the fanatical aunt.

  “Bim-bam, bim-bam,” sing-songed Laura, suddenly waking up and starting a tattoo of her own.

  “Shut up!” cried Mr. Thornton. “Did you, or did you not, any of you, see them hit anybody?”

  “Cut off their heads!” cried Edward. “And throw them in the sea!—Far, far...” his eyes became dreamy and sad.

  “They didn’t hit anybody,” said Emily. “There wasn’t any one to hit.”

  “Then where were all the sailors?” asked Mr. Mathias.

  “They were all up the rigging,” said Emily.

  “I see,” said Mr. Mathias. “Er—didn’t you say the monkey was in the rigging?”

  “He broke his neck,” said Rachel. She wrinkled up her nose disgustedly: “He was drunk.”

  “His tail was rotted,” explained Harry.

  “Well,” said Mr. Mathias, “when they came on board, what did they do?”

  There was a general silence.

  “Come, come! What did they do?—What did they do, Miss Fernandez?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Emily?”

  “ I don’t know.”

  He sat back in despair: “But you saw them!”

  “No we didn’t,” said Emily, “we went in the deckhouse.”

  “And stayed there?”

  “We couldn’t open the door.”

  “ Bang-bang-bang! ” Laura suddenly rapped out.

  “Shut up!”

  “And then, when they let you out?”

  “We went on the schooner.”

  “Were you frightened?”

  “What of?”

  “Well: them.”

  “Who?”

  “The pirates.”

  “Why should we?”

  “They didn’t do anything to frighten you?”

  “To frighten us?”

  “Coo! José did belch!” Edward interjected merrily, and began giving an imitation. Mrs. Thornton chid him.