Read Online The Secret Invasion of Port Isabel by Mark Douglas Stafford - Free Book Online

of sand was the unmistakable proof
that pirates were in Port Isabel: a dog-shaped paw print. Dog
prints were unlike prints from people belonging to the cat family.
Dog claws didn’t retract fully into a dog’s paw and so left an
unmistakable claw scratch. Mr Elephant had taught him that at
school. Larry knew it was newly made because the rain hadn’t a
chance to soften the edges or wash it away.
    He sniffed
then frowned. He could smell dog and sheep, but why sheep?
Were sheep in league with the pirates? That was a preposterous
idea! Perhaps the dogs were feeding. Dogs were well known as
cannibals; that they ate other mammals. Maybe they were eating
sheep? Larry shivered. He wondered what it would feel like to be
eaten by a dog. Not very pleasant.
    He carefully
peered around the barrel and then quickly pulled back. The two
vultures were standing guard on the edge of a low roof a dozen
yards away. Below them was a large pack of dogs, as many as
fifteen; pirates certainly, for they looked like wild animals
rather than regular people. The largest and fiercest might be
Pirate Pratt himself.
    They were in
conference, growling quietly in a huddle. Their wet fur was mostly
mottled grey and black and they were big, scarred and mean looking.
A few wore the skin of sheep, probably a disguise. That would
explain the smell. They were using the skins of sheep they had
eaten to disguise themselves. Larry wondered whether the sheep were
still alive when their skins were removed. What would that feel
like? He shivered. Not very pleasant.
    What were they
doing? Why were they here? Surely they couldn’t expect to overrun
the town with so few. Perhaps if he left them alone they would
quietly go away. Larry didn’t really think so but it was a nice
idea. Should he run for help or should he try to stop them himself?
If he ran for help they might have accomplished their evil mission
and departed before he was able to return with others. He made up
his mind. He had wrecked the Interloper with a harpoon and
two cheese wheels. He had stopped them once and would stop them
again.
    Staying low to
avoid being seen Larry slipped back down the gap between the sheds
and made a wide arc around the pirates. They would probably have
scout vultures positioned about the place looking out for such a
one as he but Larry had the advantage of knowing this part the
docklands well. He was only a few hundred yards from the quay.
Also, they had no idea he was stalking them so he had the element
of surprise in his favour.
    As he silently
crept though boatsheds and under drying fishing nets he thought
about how he might capture the pirates. They would have arrived by
sea and would, no doubt, depart the same way. The most likely
departure point would the jetty on which were moored any number of
vessels they might steal. Which one would they take? Would it be
the biggest so they could recover their things from the wreck, or
the fastest? He guessed the biggest. They would need something to
replace the Interloper . And the biggest vessel at the quay
was the Happy Trader .
    Larry squeezed
between two work sheds abutting the quay and stepped lightly onto
the boards. He couldn’t see very far across Lunar Bay because of
the misty rain but he could see far enough to be sure there wasn’t
a pirate ship moored nearby.
    He looked
cautiously left and right. There was no one about. He had seen no
one on his way down except for the pirates and their vultures.
Everyone was either away recovering from last night’s riot or had
already been dealt with by the pirates. Larry wasn’t sure which. He
hoped it was the former.
    The rain made
the heavy wooden boards of the quay shiny black. Shallow waves
gently nudged the piers and fizzed on the rock shore beneath the
timber deck. The many small fishing boats, strung with fishing nets
and painted in gay colours, swayed in the swell as they tugged
against their mooring ropes. Somewhere a bell tinkled softly.
    Halfway along
the jetty he