‘What a thrilling story!’ said Dinah. ‘I wish we could find the map. Where did the old man live? Surely the map would be hidden in the house he had?’
‘I should think it’s been searched from top to bottom,’ said Lucian. ‘I know the island he lived on. We shall come to it in a day’s time. It’s called Amulis.’
‘Oh! Are we going to land on it?’ cried Lucy-Ann. ‘I’d like to!’
‘Yes. We usually do call there,’ said Lucian. ‘It’s quite a big island, with towns and villages, and some good shops that sell antiques and things. Visitors often go in parties from the ships and buy things.’
‘We’ll go together!’ said Dinah. ‘I want to buy some things – I haven’t nearly enough. Come with us, Lucian, you’ll really be a very great help!’
7
Lucian is very helpful
Mrs Mannering was pleased to hear that the ship was to call at the romantic island of Amulis. She, like the children, had been fascinated by all the misty-purple islands that kept looming up in the dark-blue sea. She had been dipping into Greek history, and somehow it seemed as if the Aegean Sea belonged to the past, not to the present.
The children borrowed her books and read them too. How old these islands were, and what stories they held! Lucy-Ann was fascinated by them. She stood at the deck rail and watched all day long.
‘Why are there so many?’ she said. ‘What do you call a collection of so many islands? It’s a long name, I know. ’
‘Archipelago,’ said Mrs Mannering. ‘You know, Lucy-Ann, it’s said that once all these islands were joined together, making a great mainland. Then something happened, and the sea rushed into what is now the Mediterranean basin, filled it up, and drowned a lot of this mainland. Only the highest parts, the hills and mountains, were left – and they show above the water as islands – the Aegean islands we are cruising among!’
‘My goodness,’ said Lucy-Ann, her quick imagination showing her a great sweep of water rushing relentlessly over a land where towns and villages stood – swallowing them up one by one, drowning them – and at last leaving only the highest parts showing above the surface of the waters. ‘Oh, Aunt Allie – do you mean that far below us, on the ocean bed, are the ruined remains of cities and villages? Did it happen long ago?’
‘Thousands and thousands of years ago,’ said Mrs Mannering. ‘There wouldn’t be a trace of them left now. But it explains the myriads of little islands in this sea. I’m glad we are to visit one of them.’
‘You’re not afraid of us falling into some exciting adventure now, are you?’ said Lucy-Ann slyly. ‘You think it will be safe to visit this romantic little island?’
‘Quite safe,’ said Mrs Mannering, laughing. ‘For one thing I shall be with you.’
‘We’ve asked Lucian to come too,’ said Dinah. ‘I know he’s a nitwit – but he really does know about these islands, Mother. He’s told us all sorts of stories about them. His uncle owns some of them.’
‘Yes, I heard that he did,’ said Mrs Mannering. ‘I’ve talked to his wife – quite a nice woman. I can’t say I’d like a husband who did nothing but buy up islands and dig frantically for months, then sell them and start somewhere else. He’s got a bee in his bonnet, I think. Still, he certainly seems to have made some interesting finds – finds that have made him a wealthy man!’
The Viking Star sailed into a small port the next day. The children were hanging over the deck rail and were surprised when their ship came to a stop and anchored where she was without steaming to the jetty.
‘We can’t get any closer in – the jetty isn’t suitable for us. We’re too big,’ explained one of the officers to the children. ‘You’ll go ashore in a motor launch.’
Sure enough a launch came out to the ship, and a score or so of passengers climbed down the ladder to the deck of the launch. The four children went, of course, and Lucian, also Mrs Mannering and some of the other interested passengers. Lucian’s people did not go. They knew so much about the island that they had no desire to visit Amulis.
But to the children it was all very thrilling indeed. The motor launch sped off to the jetty where they all landed. Lucian was quite at home on the island, which he had visited before with his uncle.
‘You keep with me. I can show you all the interesting things,’ he said. ‘And I can talk to the people too, and bargain for you if you want to buy anything.’
Lucian was certainly very, very useful. He pushed off the flock of little children who came crowding round begging for money, and sent out such a fierce stream of odd-sounding words that even Kiki was most impressed. He knew his way about and was quite good at explaining things.
‘Here’s the market. The people from the hills up there bring their goods down here – look at them on the stalls – then they spend the money they get at the shops in the town. Or they go to the cinema.’
The people were a picturesque lot. They wore big hats because of the sun, and a collection of nondescript white garments that might have been anything, but which suited them quite well. The children were beautiful, Lucy-Ann thought, with their dark eyes, beautifully shaped faces and thick curling hair.
Lucian took them to an old ruined castle, but the boys were disappointed because there were no dungeons to be seen. The girls were amazed to see people apparently living in parts of the castle, together with their goats and hens.
‘They’re very poor islanders,’ explained Lucian. ‘They’ve got nowhere else to live. Further inland, if I’d time to take you, you’d see people living in caves in the mountainsides. They used to do that thousands of years ago too. It’s strange to think those caves have sheltered people century after century. ’
‘Do those cave-people go to the cinema in the town?’ asked Dinah.
‘Oh, yes. They love it, though they can’t read anything in English on the screen. The speech is translated, of course,’ said Lucian. ‘They live in two worlds, really – the world of long ago, when people used caves as shelter and scraped along with their goats and hens and geese, and in the world of today, where there are motorcars and cinemas and so on.’
‘A weird mixture,’ said Jack. ‘I shouldn’t know where I was!’
‘Oh, they know, all right,’ said Lucian, and he paused to shout angrily at a small child who was trying slyly to pull at a ribbon Lucy-Ann was wearing in her dress. Kiki also began to scream excitedly, and Micky jumped up and down on Philip’s shoulder, chattering. The child fled in terror. Lucy-Ann felt quite sorry for it.
Lucian took them to the shops. Some of them were small, secret shops, dark and full of strange goods. One shop, which was full of antiques to attract visitors, was quite big.
‘You can go in here if you want to look round and buy something,’ said Lucian. ‘Oh, I say! Where’s Micky gone?’
‘Just to have a little exercise on the canopy over the shop,’ said Philip. Micky was amusing, the way he often leapt off Philip’s shoulder and hung on to all kinds of things nearby, scampering here and there, flinging himself through the air to some fresh place, never once falling or missing his hold. He was now galloping over the sun canopy, running from side to side, occasionally stopping to fling himself up to a window ledge overhead and then drop back. But when he saw that Philip was going into the shop below he threw himself down from the canopy and with a flying leap was back on the boy’s shoulder.
‘Can’t get rid of you, can I?’ said Philip. ‘You’re a bad penny, always turning up – and you do make my neck so hot!’
The shop was fascinating to the four children. They had no idea which things were genuinely old and which were not. Lucian, with the knowledge he had picked up from his uncle, pointed out a few really old things, but they were far too expensive to buy. Lucy-Ann looked at her money and asked Lucian if there was anything at all she could afford to buy.
He counted it up. It was Greek money, and Lucy-Ann had no idea of its value.
‘Yes, you might buy one or two things,’ he said. ‘There’s this
blue carved stone, for instance.’
‘No, I don’t want that,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I really want to buy something for Philip. It’s his birthday soon. Is there anything he would like? Don’t let him see it – it’s to keep for his birthday.’
‘Well – what about this tiny carved ship?’ said Lucian, holding out a miniature ship, exactly like some of the ships in the harbour. ‘It isn’t old, of course.’
Seeing the ship reminded Lucy-Ann of something. ‘Oh! I know what I’d like to buy for him, Lucian. I’ve just thought. Something he badly wants.’
‘What’s that?’ said Lucian.
‘He wants a ship in a bottle,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I know it sounds a funny thing to ask for, but Philip says he always has wanted a ship in a bottle.’
‘Well – I don’t think I’ve ever seen one here,’ said Lucian. ‘It’s not the kind of thing they sell. Wa it a minute. I’ll ask the johnny who’s at the back of the shop. He’ll know.’
He made his way through the masses of curious goods and disappeared behind a screen, where he could be heard talking to someone. He appeared again a minute later.
‘No, they don’t sell things like that here,’ he said. ‘But he says he knows where there is one, though it’s rather a dirty old thing, and he thinks it’s cracked.’
‘Where is it?’ asked Lucy-Ann. ‘I could clean it up, if it isn’t too badly cracked.’
‘He says he saw it on a shelf in a house belonging to an old fisherman, not far from here,’ said Lucian. ‘I’ll take you, if you like. Wo uld Mrs Mannering mind?’
Mrs Mannering was with the ship’s party, but she was keeping an eye on Lucian and his little company. Lucy-Ann thought she had better go and ask permission. They went out of the shop and found Mrs Mannering with the rest of the party having a cool fruit drink in a curious little courtyard overshadowed by an enormous tree.
‘Aunt Allie – I want to give Philip a ship in a bottle for his birthday, and I’ve heard of one. Lucian says he’ll take me to get it. May I go?’ asked the little girl.
‘Yes, but don’t be long, Lucian,’ said Mrs Mannering. ‘It’s not far, is it?’
‘Oh no – just behind the market, that’s all,’ said Lucian, and set off with Lucy-Ann. They crossed the noisy market, falling over stray hens and getting in the way of a herd of goats. They came to a tall blank wall and went round it. On the other side was a sloping courtyard, and round it were set several quaint little cottages made of stone.
Lucian went to one of them and shouted in at the open door. A croaking voice answered him. ‘Wa nt to come in?’ he asked Lucy-Ann. ‘It will be a bit gloomy, I expect.’
Lucy-Ann didn’t really want to go in, but she thought it would be rude to refuse, so she stepped over a hen that was squatting on the step, and went into a small dark room that seemed to the girl to be full of laundry and the scents of smoke and cooking.
‘There’s the ship in a bottle. Look,’ said Lucian, and he pointed to a stone shelf at the end of the room. There was a broken pot on it, an old bone – and the bottle! Lucy-Ann peered at the bottle to see if there was a ship inside. It was so sooty and dirty that she could not see through the glass.
Lucian said something to the old woman sitting on a stool, picked up the bottle and carried it to the door. He wiped it with his handkerchief, and held up the bottle for Lucy-Ann to see.
‘There you are. You can just see the ship now. We’d have to wash the bottle in soapy water before we got the dirt off. It’s quite a good ship – nicely carved. And I should think Philip would like it if he really wants one, though I can’t imagine why anyone should long for a ship in a bottle.’
‘Oh, I can!’ said Lucy-Ann, peering at the ship. ‘I’ve often longed for things like this – you know, quite useless, but nice and unusual. I had a friend once who had a glass ball, and inside was a little snowman – and when you shook the ball a whole lot of snow rose up inside the ball and showered itself down over the snowman. I loved that. So I know why Philip wants this.’
‘Well – shall I ask the old woman if she’ll sell it?’ asked Lucian. ‘The bottle is dirty and cracked, so it’s not worth much.’
‘Yes – ask her. You know how much money I’ve got. I can spend all that,’ said Lucy-Ann. Lucian went back into the cottage with the bottle, nearly falling over two clucking hens on the way. A loud argument could be heard from inside. Lucy-Ann stayed out in the open air, listening but not understanding a word. She felt she could not bear to brave the dark inside the cottage again.
Lucian came out triumphant. He carried the bottle. ‘Well, there you are. I’ve spent half your money. The old woman wanted the money badly, but she said she didn’t know what her old grandad would think if he knew she’d sold a ship that had been in that bottle and in that family for years and years. However, as her grandad must have died long ago I don’t expect he’ll mind. Here you are.’
‘Oh, thank you, Lucian,’ said Lucy-Ann gratefully. ‘I’ll get a bit of paper and wrap it up. I do, do hope Philip will like it. It’s an exciting present, isn’t it?’
But it was going to be much, much more exciting than Lucy-Ann imagined!
8
The ship in the bottle
Lucy-Ann managed to get some paper and wrap up the bottle and ship before Philip saw it. The others were curious to know what she had got, but she would not tell them.
‘It’s something breakable, because you’re carrying it so carefully!’ said Jack. When they got back to the ship and she and Dinah got into their cabin, Lucy-Ann unwrapped the bottle and showed it to her.
‘What a dirty old thing!’ said Dinah. ‘What is it? You haven’t spent your money on that, surely!’
‘Half of it,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘It’s for Philip’s birthday. He said he wanted one. It’s a ship in a bottle.’
‘Is it really? Gosh, so it is!’ said Dinah, interested. ‘Let’s clean it up and see it properly. Isn’t it a big one?’
They rubbed soap on a flannel and proceeded to clean up the bottle. Once the glass was clean the ship inside could be plainly seen. It was a beauty, quite big, intricately carved, with carefully made sails. In contrast to the bottle, it was clean and free from dust. The colours it had been painted with were still bright.
‘Look at that!’ said Lucy-Ann in delight. ‘It must be a model of one of the old Greek ships. How did it get into the bottle, Dinah? Look, the neck of the bottle is small and narrow – nobody could possibly push that lovely little ship through the neck. It would be quite impossible.’
‘I can’t imagine how it got into the bottle,’ said Dinah, puzzled too. ‘But it’s certainly inside. Won’t Philip be pleased? I rather like it myself.’
‘Oh, so do I. It’s wizard,’ said Lucy-Ann. She stood it on a shelf. The bottle had a flat side, and stood on this, the lovely little ship sailing along, as it seemed, in the middle of the bottle, all its sails set.
‘What’s the ship called?’ said Dinah, peering at it. ‘I can’t tell, can you? The letters on it aren’t like ours. They must be Greek.’
The ship in the bottle was duly given to Philip two days later on his birthday. He was thrilled. Lucy-Ann glowed with delight when she saw how pleased he was.
‘But where did you get it? Why, it’s the nicest one I’ve ever seen!’ he said. ‘Quite the nicest. Really beautifully made. I wonder how old it is. I’m glad it’s such a nice big one too. Most of the ships in bottles I’ve seen are much smaller than this.’
Micky and Kiki came to look at the ship in the bottle. Micky saw the ship through the glass and tried to get hold of it. He couldn’t , of course, because of the glass, and it puzzled him.
‘Happy Christmas,’ said Kiki to Philip every now and again. She had been taught to say ‘Happy returns’ but she kept mixing it with ‘Happy Christmas,’ which she said every few minutes.
‘Thanks, old thing,’ Philip said. ‘Happy New Ye ar to you!’
‘Oh, don’t muddle her any more,’ said Dinah. ‘Let’s
go and show Mother the ship in the bottle.’
They went up on deck and found Mrs Mannering. Her deckchair was next to Lucian’s aunt’s chair, which she found rather trying sometimes, as she didn’t very much like the uncle.
‘Look, Mother – see what Lucy-Ann’s given me for my birthday – something I’ve always wanted,’ said Philip.
It was admired, and then passed on to Lucian’s aunt and uncle to see. Mr Eppy looked at it carefully. He seemed puzzled.
‘The ship is very old – really old,’ he said. ‘But the bottle is modern. The idea of a ship in a bottle is a comparatively recent one, of course. But the ship inside is far older – almost an antique! Ve ry interesting.’
‘It’s got a name carved on it, very small,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I can’t read it. Can you, Mr Eppy?’
He peered at it and spelt it out. ‘Ye s – A-N-D-R-A – queer name for a ship! Never heard of one called that in Greek.’
‘I’ve heard the name before,’ said Lucy-Ann, and she tried to remember. ‘Oh, yes – wasn’t it the name of the girl in that lovely treasure story of Lucian’s – the girl who didn’t want to marry a one-eyed man? We ll, we often call our ships by the names of girls or women – look at our big liners, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. I don’t see why a Greek ship shouldn’t be called after a princess too.’
Mr Eppy wasn’t listening. He wasn’t at all interested in any of the children, not even in Lucian, his own nephew. He yawned and settled himself to sleep. Mrs Mannering nodded to the children to go. Micky and Kiki were rather tiresome when anyone wanted to sleep. Kiki’s squawks and Micky’s chatter and tricks didn’t appeal to the grown-ups as much as they did to the children.
They took the ship in the bottle back to the cabin – this time to the boys’ cabin. Philip decided to put it on the shelf opposite his bed, where he could see it. He was very pleased with it indeed. It was quaint and strange, and beautiful, and he had always wanted it. Now he had it.
‘Be careful that monkey of yours doesn’t tamper with it,’ Jack warned him. ‘He’s very curious about the ship inside – keeps trying to touch it through the glass, and he gets quite annoyed when he can’t .’