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leaned over the rail, peering down at the
mermaids floating beside us, chattering and cooing in the moonlight.
    “Help us!” I pleaded with them. “We want to find your friend. Please—can
you take us to her?”
    I held my breath and waited. Would the mermaids understand me? Would they be
able to help us—somehow?
    The mermaids chattered and whistled to one another. Then one of them—a
dark-haired mermaid with an extra-long tail—moved to the head of the group.
    She began whistling and clicking to the other mermaids. She seemed to be
giving orders.
    The three of us stared in amazement as the mermaids began to form a long
line, one mermaid after the other, stretching far out to sea.
    “Do you think they’re going to lead us to the kidnappers?” I asked.
    “Maybe,” Dr. D. replied thoughtfully. “But how will the mermaids find the
boat?” He rubbed his chin. “I know. I’ll bet they’ll use their sonar. I wish I
had time to really listen to those sounds they’re making—”
    “Look, Dr. D!” Sheena interrupted. “The mermaids are swimming away!”
    We watched the dark figures slide away through the rolling black waters.
    “Quick!” I cried. “We’ve got to follow them.”
    “Too dangerous,” Dr. D. replied, sighing. “We can’t fight Alexander and four
big masked men by ourselves!”
    He paced back and forth on the narrow deck. “We should call the island
police,” he said finally. “But what would we say? That we’re chasing after a
kidnapped mermaid? No one would believe us.”
    “Dr. D., we have to follow them. Please!” I pleaded. “The mermaids are
swimming out of sight!”
    He stared at me for a long moment. “Okay. Let’s get going,” he said finally.
    I hurried to the stern to untie the dinghy. Dr. D. dropped it into the water
and jumped in. Sheena and I followed. Dr. D. started the motor—and we raced
after the shimmering line of mermaids.
    The mermaids glided so quickly through the rolling waters, it was hard for
the small boat to keep up with them.
    About fifteen or twenty minutes later, we found ourselves in a small,
deserted cove. The moon drifted out of the clouds. It cast pale light on a dark
boat anchored near the shore.
    Dr. D. cut the motor so the kidnappers wouldn’t hear us approaching.
    “They must be asleep,” he whispered.
    “How can Alexander sleep after what he did to us?” said Sheena. “He left us
to drown!”
    “Money can make people do terrible things,” Dr. D. replied sadly. “But it’s
good they think we’re dead. They won’t be expecting us.”
    “But where’s the mermaid?” I whispered, staring at the dark boat, bobbing
gently under the misty moonlight.
    We drifted silently toward the darkened boat.
    Well, we’ve found the kidnappers, I thought, holding on to the side of the
dinghy as we drew near.
    There’s just one problem.
    What do we do next?

 
 
25
     
     
    The air became very still. The kidnappers’ boat sat gently on the calm,
glassy waters of the cove.
    “What happened to all the mermaids?” Sheena whispered.
    I shrugged. There was no sign of them. I imagined them swimming way down
below the surface, hiding.
    Suddenly, at the side of the kidnappers’ boat, I saw ripples in the water.
    Slowly, silently, our dinghy glided toward the boat. I stared at the ripples,
trying to see what was making them. Then I saw a flash of blond hair in the
moonlight.
    “The mermaid!” I whispered. “There she is!”
    She was floating in the water, tied to the back of the kidnappers’ boat.
    “They must not have a tank to keep her in,” Dr. D. whispered excitedly.
“Lucky for us.”
    Suddenly, we saw other figures rippling the water. Mermaids arched up,
circling the captured mermaid. I saw tail fins raised like giant fans. I saw hands reach around the
mermaid, hands tugging at the rope that held her.
    The waters tossed quietly as the figures worked.
    “The mermaids are setting her free,” I whispered.
    “What are we going to