A Trip To Tuanaki

Chapter 6

"I never said it wasn't stealing," Alice protests. "I'm just not a thief."

Mal shakes his head and takes the spyglass that Gunny is offering him, holds it up to his eye, and scans the horizon for the distant ship. It takes a bit, given the distance, but as Gunny said, their eponymous black sails stand out surprisingly well in all the pastel pinks and oranges of sunrise — and it's not that far past dawn, after all. Just far enough that something showing up that dark couldn't possibly be natural.

"I hope you're a thief who can fight," Mal says. "They're definitely coming this way." Then, he turns towards the hold, and shouts, loud enough to deafen the women, "DEN! FIRE UP THE SECOND BURNER!"

Then he turns to Gunny. She at least was prepared for his shout, and isn't quite as deaf as Alice. "He is awake, right?" he asks her.

"I think so. He was awake when I came up — so unless he's fallen asleep since then—"

However, they get the answer quickly enough, in the form of a massive shudder that works it way through the ship's pipes and then a brief whistle of escaping steam. Den, as far as can be deduced from their deck-side position, does as he's bid and fires up the second burner. It'll give them a bit more speed, and hopefully a bit more altitude as some of the heat is also transferred to heating the ship's balloon.

"Come one, come on, just a bit more height and we're above the cloud cover..."

While Gunny and Mal trade the spyglass back and forth, keeping an eye on the blacksails and also their forward motion, Alice keeps to herself, leaning against the rail of the ship. They're going at quite a clip and the breeze up here is not quite unbearable, but it's getting close. Still, at least she's finally glad for the warmth of her father's jacket. She huddles into the familiar leather and wishes she'd brought her scarf, but she's been hopping between all the tropical islands recently and more warmth has been the last thing she's wanted—

"Alice, I need to you be very straight with me right now."

Alice turns, startled. She's been lost in thought and suddenly Mal is looming over her, looking angry — but also, possibly, afraid?

"Um, what about?"

"Have you stolen anything from the blacksails?"

"No! Well... I don't think so. I mean, how would I know that I've stolen anything from the bogeymen? So I don't think so — unless the blacksails are somehow working for the Company."

Mal sighs deeply, and the bottom drops out of Alice's stomach.

"They... aren't, are they? Working for the Company, I mean? I mean, yes, I've stolen things from the Company before, but—"

"I don't know if they're working for the Company," Mal says. "But they seem very intent on following us and—"

Suddenly Mal turns to Gunny. "Gunny, what's in the hold right now?"

She shrugs. "Some food. Uh, bananas, I think? Not sure. It was crated already. It's not taxed but—"

"It was crated already?" Mal asks.

"Yes, but I trust Ellery."

"And usually I would too, but we've got blacksails on our tail. Keep an eye on the sails and shout when we break through the cloud layer. Alice, come with me."

Mal hands Gunny back her spyglass and heads straight for the hold. Alice is right behind him. She's not sure why he's asked for her but she's more than willing to be swept up in the excitement. She's actually kind of grinning as they scurry down the first ladder, across the upper hold, and to the cargo hatch.