CHAPTER 4
THE WINDRUSH
Gateway Quay was deserted when Harry arrived, which was a surprise because it was usually bustling with activity in the morning. He passed through the old stone gate and onto the boards. Work sheds opened onto the quay that ran along the rocky shoreline of Lunar Bay, a long jetty bobbing with boats jutting out from the middle. From above it would look like an umbrella without a hook on its handle, or maybe a capital T.
‘Hello!’ Harry called into the first work shed. ‘Anyone there?’ The incomplete frame of a fishing boat surrounded by wood shavings stood unattended.
He moved to the next. ‘Hello,’ he called. There was no answer.
The next three sheds were also empty and no one seemed to be about. Harry was aware of Larry watching, just out of sight. He was a strange and troubled monkey.
At the jetty, gaily painted boats tied to sturdy pylons rocked in the swell. Somewhere, a bell tinkled softly.
‘Is anybody here?’ he called into the next shed. Nobody answered.
Harry was about to move on when he noticed a large tortoise shell in the shadows. It was lying next to a pile of timber offcuts and wood shavings and had moved ever so slightly, giving its owner away.
‘Ha! I see you there, Assam. Come on out, I’d like to talk to you,’ said Harry, entering.
Assam slowly emerged from his shell, beady eyes cautiously looking left and right. Then left and right again, just to be sure. ‘I heard there are p-p-pirates, Harry?’
Harry turned and looked out of the shed. He could see a motley collection of small boats bobbing about as they tugged against their mooring ropes, but no pirates. A ‘For Sale’ sign hung from the mast of a fast-looking skiff tied to a pylon directly opposite.
‘They just passed by, Assam, and didn’t stop, my courageous friend. Sailed right past. So, no need to worry.’
‘And the b-b-big bang we heard?’ Assam fearfully stuttered.
‘A passing shot, no more. A school was hit in the East, a long way from here, but no one injured.’ Harry spoke reassuringly, his voice calm. He knew a tortoise needed to be gently drawn back into the world after a fright. Instinct drove them into their shells at the slightest sniff of danger.
‘I need a fast boat,’ he said.
‘What do you want with a boat? It’s not safe...’ Assam’s leathery skin whitened as realisation dawned. ‘You can’t to go after them, Harry! They’re p-p-pirates! You can’t fight pirates. You just hope they don’t notice you or if they do, that you’ve got b-b-bigger guns. They’re danger, danger, d-d-dangerous!’ Assam retracted into his shell.
‘Assam, come on out. It’s not as if I’m asking you to come. Assam!’
But Assam didn’t move. He just squinted at Harry with one beady eye and pretended he was made of stone.
‘Well, stay in there then. But lend me that skiff you’ve got for sale or something else fast enough to catch them, before they get away.’
Harry noticed movement near the entrance. He turned and saw Larry in the shadows.
‘Larry, come over here and help talk some courage into this tortoise. All I want to do is chase a few pirates and he’s gone into his shell.’
He turned back to Assam as Larry approached.
‘Are there no courageous tortoises left in the world? You’re much more heavily armoured than me. You’d probably survive a direct hit with a cannon ball. It’d bounce right off.’
Assam whimpered and pulled in more tightly while Larry switched attention between possum and tortoise, face unreadable.
‘Don’t have anything to do with this crazy possum,’ Assam shuddered. ‘Given what happened to your p-p-parents… oh…’
Larry’s face dropped. He was a small monkey and his fur was matted through lack of care. Harry put a reassuring paw on his shoulder but it was shrugged off as the chimp turned away.
‘What happened to your parents, Larry? Did it have something to do with pirates?’
Larry turned and slunk away, knuckles dragging on the boards.
Time was getting away and the Interloper had a big head start. He would need to leave now to have any chance of catching them.
‘Is there a skiff I could borrow, Assam? The one out front will do nicely.’
Assam was as silent as a statue.
Harry shrugged, left the shed and walked back onto the quay. Now that the pirate threat had passed, animals were returning quayside. Some went straight back to work: cutting, hammering, painting, stacking and rigging. Others were talking in small groups. The wind had picked up and was blowing easterly, a fortuitous sign—not that Harry believed in such things. The pirates were sailing east and a strong breeze would help speed the chase.
Assam came up behind. In the sunshine, his shell was a patchwork of green and brown tiles.
‘How much do you want for that one?’ asked Harry, appraising the little skiff with a shipwright’s eye.
Assam cleared his throat. ‘L-l-less for friends,’ he said, drawing level with Harry. He looked more confident now that others were about.
‘The Windrush’s fast, watertight and fully provisioned. A bargain you can’t pass up.’
‘I can’t, can I? Well, I suppose I should take her out for a test drive, just in case you’re right,’ said Harry, slyly. ‘That would be wise, don’t you think?’
Harry walked to the edge of the quay and looked down at the Windrush. Cables slapped against the masts of a big fishing boat moored next in line. Somewhere a bell tinkled. Sea spray beaded on his fur.
Larry lopped past at a run and jumped into the skiff causing it to rock alarmingly.
‘Larry, wait up! What are you doing? You can’t come! It’s too dangerous! You’re too young!’
Larry cast off and the Windrush began drifting away from the quay leaving Harry with no choice but to leap after it. He used his tail to balance his flight, as possums are taught to do from infancy, and arrested his fall by grabbing the rigging. He lowered himself to the tilting deck, paw over paw.
Assam, caught completely by surprise by their suddenness of their departure, looked down from the quay. ‘Hey! Come back! There are papers to sign,’ he yelled.
Larry was skilfully unfurling the sails of the small craft. Harry could see he knew boats very well indeed.
‘Larry, come over here,’ he said.
Larry didn’t show he’d heard.
‘Stop that, Larry. I said you can’t come.’
He made a grab for the chimp but Larry twisted and bounced past. In one deft motion he untied and released the spinnaker, which immediately ballooned tight with air. Harry was thrown back and had little choice but to grab the tiller as the Windrush accelerated away from the quay and out into Lunar Bay.
‘We’ll talk price when I get back from the test drive,’ yelled Harry, laughing.
Harry watched as Larry trimmed the mainsail and jib. When that was done, the chimp made his way to the skiff’s prow and skilfully coiled the painter. Holding tight the rigging, he looked fixedly forward, giving every impression he wouldn’t be dissuaded from coming.
The gusty wind made the bay choppy. Little silver wave crests danced and fizzed in the sunshine. The Windrush soon left the shelter of Lunar Bay and entered the Gulf of Mexico where the swell was bigger and the wind, stronger. The skiff was now flying like an arrow, ocean spray soaking both animals to the skin and sweeping back their fur. The morning sun burned overhead and Harry’s sunglasses were speckled with salt spray.
Now that he had a way to catch the pirates, all he needed was a way to stop them.