Read Online Seas of South Africa by Philip Roy - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Philip Roy
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the binoculars and looked more closely. Directly behind the portal, near the horizon, was a motorboat, and it was coming fast. They had found us.
I grabbed the money and Little Lauraâs cage. âHollie! We have to go! Hollie?â
I didnât see him. Where was he? I ran to the kayak. âHollie!â
The pirates were only three or four miles away. They would be here in minutes. I dropped the cage and money into the kayak and pushed it into the water. Where was Hollie? We had to go now . If the pirates caught us, we were dead. âHollie!â
He didnât come. I couldnât see Seaweed, either. I started to feel panic. I hated to go without Hollie, but would have to come back and find him later; otherwise, weâd both be dead. So, I paddled to the sub, opened the hatch, and carried Little Laura and the money inside. Then I climbed back out. There was a sound of a rifle shot in the distance, but it was far away. I raised the binoculars. It was the pirates all right. They were crowded in the boat, with guns in their arms. One of them was aiming, but couldnât hit us from so far away, especially from a moving boat. I pulled up the anchor and prepared to shut the hatch. Now only my head was showing. I took a glance at the beach, and then I saw Hollie. He was in the water, swimming towards the sub. But he was too slow. âHurry! Hollie! Hurry!â
There was no way he could make it here in time. I looked at the pirates. We had maybe a minute and a half at most. With a horrible sinking feeling, I climbed out, slipped into thewater, and swam to Hollie as fast as I could. I grabbed him by the back of his neck and struggled back. There were more rifle shots now, and they were louder. Instead of climbing up the portal and exposing my body, I slithered inside like a snake, headfirst, holding Hollie in one hand. I went in upside down, bracing myself with the ladder, and let Hollie drop the last couple of feet. I closed the hatch, raced to the panel board, and hit the dive and battery switches all at the same time. Before we went under, I heard a bullet strike the portal.
I hoped they didnât have grenades. If they did, they could cause us a lot of trouble as we went underneath them. The water was so shallow they would be able to follow us easily for a mile from the beach, until the sea floor dropped. And that is what they did. They followed us out, shooting the whole time. I tracked them with sonar, and could hear the faint sounds of gunshots. They were shooting into the water, even though it was useless for them. The bullets lost most of their power once they hit the water, and couldnât hurt the steel hull anyway. They must have been wild with anger. Thank heavens they didnât have grenades. Still, I sat at the control panel and shivered. It had been way too close. If I hadnât looked for them just then, weâd probably be dead now. I just couldnât take any more chances like that. We would sail away from here now, once we had picked up Seaweed. We would sail far away, and never come back.
Three miles from shore, I surfaced to periscope depth and scanned the water. The pirates were racing in circles, tryingdesperately to find us. I watched them for an hour. Sooner or later, they would get frustrated and give up. Then we could go back and find Seaweed. He could spot the periscope for miles from the sky. After we picked him up, weâd sail hundreds of miles away before we set foot on shore again. I didnât think the pirates would follow us that far. They couldnât follow us forever.
Chapter Ten
HUNDREDS OF MILES south, just south of Maputo, we were sitting in the water a few miles offshore. It was the middle of the afternoon, sunny and hot, with a very slight breeze passing over the open hatch. I was making pancakes, with raspberry jam and maple syrup. I could finally flip a pancake in the air and catch it in the pan without breaking it or dropping it on the
I grabbed the money and Little Lauraâs cage. âHollie! We have to go! Hollie?â
I didnât see him. Where was he? I ran to the kayak. âHollie!â
The pirates were only three or four miles away. They would be here in minutes. I dropped the cage and money into the kayak and pushed it into the water. Where was Hollie? We had to go now . If the pirates caught us, we were dead. âHollie!â
He didnât come. I couldnât see Seaweed, either. I started to feel panic. I hated to go without Hollie, but would have to come back and find him later; otherwise, weâd both be dead. So, I paddled to the sub, opened the hatch, and carried Little Laura and the money inside. Then I climbed back out. There was a sound of a rifle shot in the distance, but it was far away. I raised the binoculars. It was the pirates all right. They were crowded in the boat, with guns in their arms. One of them was aiming, but couldnât hit us from so far away, especially from a moving boat. I pulled up the anchor and prepared to shut the hatch. Now only my head was showing. I took a glance at the beach, and then I saw Hollie. He was in the water, swimming towards the sub. But he was too slow. âHurry! Hollie! Hurry!â
There was no way he could make it here in time. I looked at the pirates. We had maybe a minute and a half at most. With a horrible sinking feeling, I climbed out, slipped into thewater, and swam to Hollie as fast as I could. I grabbed him by the back of his neck and struggled back. There were more rifle shots now, and they were louder. Instead of climbing up the portal and exposing my body, I slithered inside like a snake, headfirst, holding Hollie in one hand. I went in upside down, bracing myself with the ladder, and let Hollie drop the last couple of feet. I closed the hatch, raced to the panel board, and hit the dive and battery switches all at the same time. Before we went under, I heard a bullet strike the portal.
I hoped they didnât have grenades. If they did, they could cause us a lot of trouble as we went underneath them. The water was so shallow they would be able to follow us easily for a mile from the beach, until the sea floor dropped. And that is what they did. They followed us out, shooting the whole time. I tracked them with sonar, and could hear the faint sounds of gunshots. They were shooting into the water, even though it was useless for them. The bullets lost most of their power once they hit the water, and couldnât hurt the steel hull anyway. They must have been wild with anger. Thank heavens they didnât have grenades. Still, I sat at the control panel and shivered. It had been way too close. If I hadnât looked for them just then, weâd probably be dead now. I just couldnât take any more chances like that. We would sail away from here now, once we had picked up Seaweed. We would sail far away, and never come back.
Three miles from shore, I surfaced to periscope depth and scanned the water. The pirates were racing in circles, tryingdesperately to find us. I watched them for an hour. Sooner or later, they would get frustrated and give up. Then we could go back and find Seaweed. He could spot the periscope for miles from the sky. After we picked him up, weâd sail hundreds of miles away before we set foot on shore again. I didnât think the pirates would follow us that far. They couldnât follow us forever.
Chapter Ten
HUNDREDS OF MILES south, just south of Maputo, we were sitting in the water a few miles offshore. It was the middle of the afternoon, sunny and hot, with a very slight breeze passing over the open hatch. I was making pancakes, with raspberry jam and maple syrup. I could finally flip a pancake in the air and catch it in the pan without breaking it or dropping it on the
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