that ran beneath the windows.
There were quills and pots of ink and a leather portfolio incised with gold lettering that spelled out the initials M.B . He stopped when he came to a large crystal sphere on a platform carved from pink coral. He tried to lift it but it seemed to be fastened to the counter. While it might be some nautical instrument he had never seen before, he was pretty sure it was a crystal ball. Suddenly, he was seized by curiosity.
Jesse looked around. Seeing the others were distracted, he rubbed his hands on the crystal the way he had seen gypsy fortune-tellers do it. In the crystal ball’s cloudy depths, the Driftwood family appeared, Bill and Mitzi, with their son and daughter, Reef and Coral. They were standing around the fire on the beach in front of their ramshackle abode, toasting marshmallows. They lookedup and smiled and waved at him, like a family in an old-fashioned home movie mugging for the camera.
Jesse was just about to wave back when Fluke’s voice broke in upon him as he said, “Your cabin is right next door and ready for your inspection.”
“Lead the way,” Daisy said.
Before Jesse could show her what he had seen in the crystal ball, Daisy rose from the captain’s chair with a neat flip of her fins. The others all swam out of the captain’s quarters. Reluctantly, Jesse left the crystal ball and followed.
To the port side of the captain’s quarters was a second lacquered cabin door with a knob of gleaming gold. The plaque on one side of the door said HERS . The plaque on the other side said HIS .
With a polite bow to each of them, Fluke said, “I trust you will find everything to your satisfaction?”
Jesse put his hand on the golden knob, opened the door, and swam inside. The cabin was divided exactly down the middle. The “His” side was done in shades of blue and the “Hers” side in sea green and deep purple. If you excluded electronic gadgets, there was everything that a boy like Jesse could ever want on his side. It was all compact and built-in, from the bunk to the table beneath the stern window where there was a wooden puzzle ofa Man-o’-War jellyfish. There were trays of paints and boxes of wooden models of dolphins and flying fish and fantastic submarines and diving bells.
Above the table, a bookcase was built into the wall and contained every book that Jesse had ever read and loved, from
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
to the Chronicles of Narnia to
Ozma of Oz
, beautiful linen-bound editions with gold lettering on the spines. There were also books he had never heard of, with intriguing titles like
The Griffin and the Walrus
and
Norie, Nereid of the North Sea
.
The picture gallery on Daisy’s side of the cabin featured prints of seashells:
Periwinkle
and
Cowry, Cup-and-Saucer
and
Angel Wings, Horn
and
Scallop
. Above a table beneath whose glass top seaweed was pressed, she, too, had a bookcase built into the bulkhead.
Jesse and Daisy were just beginning to browse the books in her collection when Fluke appeared in the open doorway. “Now, we’d like to ask that Emmy come with us,” she said.
“Why?” Jesse asked.
“Where are you taking her?” Daisy asked.
“If you’ll come along, I think you’ll find all your questions will be answered,” Yar said.
Exchanging wary looks, Jesse and Daisy, withEmmy between them, swam out of their cabin and followed Fluke and Yar back down the passageway in the direction of the amidships hatch.
“I wonder what they have in mind?” Daisy asked in a low voice.
When Jesse didn’t answer, she turned to look for him. But he was no longer at her side. What had happened to Jesse?
C HAPTER S IX
THE SECOND EGG
Jesse, having broken away from the others, had swum back to the captain’s cabin. Once there, he went right over to the crystal ball. Maybe he could communicate with the Driftwoods through thecrystal ball and get some answers to his questions, like, who are Fluke and Yar? What are they up to?
There were quills and pots of ink and a leather portfolio incised with gold lettering that spelled out the initials M.B . He stopped when he came to a large crystal sphere on a platform carved from pink coral. He tried to lift it but it seemed to be fastened to the counter. While it might be some nautical instrument he had never seen before, he was pretty sure it was a crystal ball. Suddenly, he was seized by curiosity.
Jesse looked around. Seeing the others were distracted, he rubbed his hands on the crystal the way he had seen gypsy fortune-tellers do it. In the crystal ball’s cloudy depths, the Driftwood family appeared, Bill and Mitzi, with their son and daughter, Reef and Coral. They were standing around the fire on the beach in front of their ramshackle abode, toasting marshmallows. They lookedup and smiled and waved at him, like a family in an old-fashioned home movie mugging for the camera.
Jesse was just about to wave back when Fluke’s voice broke in upon him as he said, “Your cabin is right next door and ready for your inspection.”
“Lead the way,” Daisy said.
Before Jesse could show her what he had seen in the crystal ball, Daisy rose from the captain’s chair with a neat flip of her fins. The others all swam out of the captain’s quarters. Reluctantly, Jesse left the crystal ball and followed.
To the port side of the captain’s quarters was a second lacquered cabin door with a knob of gleaming gold. The plaque on one side of the door said HERS . The plaque on the other side said HIS .
With a polite bow to each of them, Fluke said, “I trust you will find everything to your satisfaction?”
Jesse put his hand on the golden knob, opened the door, and swam inside. The cabin was divided exactly down the middle. The “His” side was done in shades of blue and the “Hers” side in sea green and deep purple. If you excluded electronic gadgets, there was everything that a boy like Jesse could ever want on his side. It was all compact and built-in, from the bunk to the table beneath the stern window where there was a wooden puzzle ofa Man-o’-War jellyfish. There were trays of paints and boxes of wooden models of dolphins and flying fish and fantastic submarines and diving bells.
Above the table, a bookcase was built into the wall and contained every book that Jesse had ever read and loved, from
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
to the Chronicles of Narnia to
Ozma of Oz
, beautiful linen-bound editions with gold lettering on the spines. There were also books he had never heard of, with intriguing titles like
The Griffin and the Walrus
and
Norie, Nereid of the North Sea
.
The picture gallery on Daisy’s side of the cabin featured prints of seashells:
Periwinkle
and
Cowry, Cup-and-Saucer
and
Angel Wings, Horn
and
Scallop
. Above a table beneath whose glass top seaweed was pressed, she, too, had a bookcase built into the bulkhead.
Jesse and Daisy were just beginning to browse the books in her collection when Fluke appeared in the open doorway. “Now, we’d like to ask that Emmy come with us,” she said.
“Why?” Jesse asked.
“Where are you taking her?” Daisy asked.
“If you’ll come along, I think you’ll find all your questions will be answered,” Yar said.
Exchanging wary looks, Jesse and Daisy, withEmmy between them, swam out of their cabin and followed Fluke and Yar back down the passageway in the direction of the amidships hatch.
“I wonder what they have in mind?” Daisy asked in a low voice.
When Jesse didn’t answer, she turned to look for him. But he was no longer at her side. What had happened to Jesse?
C HAPTER S IX
THE SECOND EGG
Jesse, having broken away from the others, had swum back to the captain’s cabin. Once there, he went right over to the crystal ball. Maybe he could communicate with the Driftwoods through thecrystal ball and get some answers to his questions, like, who are Fluke and Yar? What are they up to?
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