“By the bulls of Borden, what are you doing in here?” demanded Merdin Jernigan when Bonnie Sally burst into their room.
“Hush, lunkerhead! Don’t you see she’s been sent to rescue us from these moon fanaticals?” said Pothouse Annie.
“Did the ship send you?” asked the Captain sharply. He seriously doubted such a thing; the Lieutenant had more sense than that, he hoped.
By this time Bonnie Sally had caught her breath. She motioned for them to be silent as she listened at the door. She cracked it open. There was no one in the alley. The coast was clear.
“I don’t give a tin thimble for any of you” she hissed at them. “I’m out to save my own skin. You can all go to the black pit for all I care.” And then she was gone, out the door and down the alley.
The door swung out on its own, showing them the dim alley.
“Have you the use of your legs, Captain?” asked Jernigan in a low voice.
“You suggest we decamp?” replied the Captain laconically.
“Well we barmy well don’t want to stay here for the morning campfire, do we?” demanded Mistress Annie.
Jernigan helped Captain Strangeheart out of bed. His legs felt relaxed, but capable of anything outside of full-out flight. They made their way down the alley to the main street, where traffic had ceased as everyone was now down at the harbor wondering at what had happened.
“Where to?” whispered Jernigan to the Captain, who suddenly realized he had no plan, nothing whatsoever, to effect their escape. He was as good as a blind man. But long years of command had conditioned him to remain calm and confident in the face of crisis.
“This way” he said casually, pointing towards some distant hills just visible in the moonlight. They went stealthily, keeping to the shadows, and were soon out of the town and into a forest of trees; from the fuzz continually floating down on them, the Captain thought they must be pillow trees. Master Jernigan gave a prodigious sneeze.
“Quiet, ye barmy elephank!” scolded Annie. Jernigan held a huge silken handkerchief up to his nose as they made their way through the forest. After a while they came upon a newly mown field, filled with an assortment of handmade clay pots. All uncovered. All empty.
“This must be where they gather up their moon rays from their Fallen Star” said Jernigan in a whisper. The Captain signaled for them to stop, as he surveyed the quiet, obscure field.
“Did you get much chance to see the city and people while I was down with the fever?” asked the Captain quietly.
“Aye, while Annie tended to you I stretched my legs somewhat. Their buildings are all of stone, though how they carry such heavy stuff is beyond me. I went into the biggest building I saw. Twas a temple to their Fallen Star. I was surrounded by mooniacs, who started chanting that blasted story about the two stars that Harker was driveling about tonight. I showed them my heels and quickly found the local outdoor market. I was bargaining for some right smart gemstones when Harker’s pipsqueaks came for me, ‘inviting’ me back to the house.”
Jernigan halted his narrative. All three listened for the noise of pursuit, but heard nothing but the muffled groan of an animal either in heat or being eaten alive. Something slithered over Annie’s feet, but she had the presence of mind not to screech, though she bit her lower lip until it started to bleed.
“Do you think they really believe the moon wants them to shrink themselves, to cover themselves with all that disgusting hair?” asked the Captain after a moment.
