Read Online The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed by Hugh Lofting - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Hugh Lofting
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were moving the ship very, very carefully out of the bay,
Gub-Gub suddenly sneezed so loud that the pirates
on the other ship came rushing upstairs to see
what the noise was.
As soon as they saw that the Doctor was
escaping, they sailed the other boat right across
the entrance to the bay so that the Doctor could
not get out into the open sea.
Then the leader of these bad men (who called
himself "Ben Ali, The Dragon") shook his fist
at the Doctor and shouted across the water,
"Ha! Ha! You are caught, my fine friend!
You were going to run off in my ship, eh? But
you are not a good enough sailor to beat Ben
Ali, the Barbary Dragon. I want that duck
you've got—and the pig too. We'll have pork-
chops and roast duck for supper to-night. And
before I let you go home, you must make your
friends send me a trunk-full of gold."
Poor Gub-Gub began to weep; and Dab-Dab
made ready to fly to save her life. But the owl,
Too-Too, whispered to the Doctor,
"Keep him talking, Doctor. Be pleasant to
him. Our old ship is bound to sink soon—the
rats said it would be at the bottom of the sea
before to-morrow night—and the rats are never
wrong. Be pleasant, till the ship sinks under
him. Keep him talking."
"What, until to-morrow night!" said the Doctor.
"Well, I'll do my best.... Let me see—
What shall I talk about?"
"Oh, let them come on," said Jip. "We can
fight the dirty rascals. There are only six of
them. Let them come on. I'd love to tell that
collie next door, when we get home, that I had bitten
a real pirate. Let 'em come. We can fight them."
"But they have pistols and swords," said the
Doctor. "No, that would never do. I must
talk to him.... Look here, Ben Ali—"
But before the Doctor could say any more,
the pirates began to sail the ship nearer, laughing
with glee, and saying one to another, "Who
shall be the first to catch the pig?"
Poor Gub-Gub was dreadfully frightened;
and the pushmi-pullyu began to sharpen his
horns for a fight by rubbing them on the mast
of the ship; while Jip kept springing into the
air and barking and calling Ben Ali bad names
in dog-language.
But presently something seemed to go wrong
with the pirates; they stopped laughing and
cracking jokes; they looked puzzled; something
was making them uneasy.
Then Ben Ali, staring down at his feet,
suddenly bellowed out,
"Thunder and Lightning!—Men, THE BOAT'S LEAKING!"
And then the other pirates peered over the
side and they saw that the boat was indeed getting
lower and lower in the water. And one
of them said to Ben Ali,
"But surely if this old boat were sinking we
should see the rats leaving it."
And Jip shouted across from the other ship,
"You great duffers, there are no rats there
to leave! They left two hours ago! 'Ha, ha,'
to you, 'my fine friends!'"
But of course the men did not understand him.
Soon the front end of the ship began to go
down and down, faster and faster—till the boat
looked almost as though it were standing on its
head; and the pirates had to cling to the rails
and the masts and the ropes and anything to
keep from sliding off. Then the sea rushed
roaring in and through all the windows and the
doors. And at last the ship plunged right down
to the bottom of the sea, making a dreadful
gurgling sound; and the six bad men were left
bobbing about in the deep water of the bay.
Some of them started to swim for the shores
of the island; while others came and tried to get
on to the boat where the Doctor was. But Jip
kept snapping at their noses, so they were afraid
to climb up the side of the ship.
Then suddenly they all cried out in great fear,
"THE SHARKS! The sharks are coming! Let us
get on to the ship before they eat us! Help,
help!—The sharks! The sharks!"
And now the Doctor could see, all over the
bay, the backs of big fishes swimming swiftly
through the water.
And one great shark came near to the ship,
and poking his nose out of the water he said to
the Doctor,
"Are you John Dolittle, the famous animal-
Gub-Gub suddenly sneezed so loud that the pirates
on the other ship came rushing upstairs to see
what the noise was.
As soon as they saw that the Doctor was
escaping, they sailed the other boat right across
the entrance to the bay so that the Doctor could
not get out into the open sea.
Then the leader of these bad men (who called
himself "Ben Ali, The Dragon") shook his fist
at the Doctor and shouted across the water,
"Ha! Ha! You are caught, my fine friend!
You were going to run off in my ship, eh? But
you are not a good enough sailor to beat Ben
Ali, the Barbary Dragon. I want that duck
you've got—and the pig too. We'll have pork-
chops and roast duck for supper to-night. And
before I let you go home, you must make your
friends send me a trunk-full of gold."
Poor Gub-Gub began to weep; and Dab-Dab
made ready to fly to save her life. But the owl,
Too-Too, whispered to the Doctor,
"Keep him talking, Doctor. Be pleasant to
him. Our old ship is bound to sink soon—the
rats said it would be at the bottom of the sea
before to-morrow night—and the rats are never
wrong. Be pleasant, till the ship sinks under
him. Keep him talking."
"What, until to-morrow night!" said the Doctor.
"Well, I'll do my best.... Let me see—
What shall I talk about?"
"Oh, let them come on," said Jip. "We can
fight the dirty rascals. There are only six of
them. Let them come on. I'd love to tell that
collie next door, when we get home, that I had bitten
a real pirate. Let 'em come. We can fight them."
"But they have pistols and swords," said the
Doctor. "No, that would never do. I must
talk to him.... Look here, Ben Ali—"
But before the Doctor could say any more,
the pirates began to sail the ship nearer, laughing
with glee, and saying one to another, "Who
shall be the first to catch the pig?"
Poor Gub-Gub was dreadfully frightened;
and the pushmi-pullyu began to sharpen his
horns for a fight by rubbing them on the mast
of the ship; while Jip kept springing into the
air and barking and calling Ben Ali bad names
in dog-language.
But presently something seemed to go wrong
with the pirates; they stopped laughing and
cracking jokes; they looked puzzled; something
was making them uneasy.
Then Ben Ali, staring down at his feet,
suddenly bellowed out,
"Thunder and Lightning!—Men, THE BOAT'S LEAKING!"
And then the other pirates peered over the
side and they saw that the boat was indeed getting
lower and lower in the water. And one
of them said to Ben Ali,
"But surely if this old boat were sinking we
should see the rats leaving it."
And Jip shouted across from the other ship,
"You great duffers, there are no rats there
to leave! They left two hours ago! 'Ha, ha,'
to you, 'my fine friends!'"
But of course the men did not understand him.
Soon the front end of the ship began to go
down and down, faster and faster—till the boat
looked almost as though it were standing on its
head; and the pirates had to cling to the rails
and the masts and the ropes and anything to
keep from sliding off. Then the sea rushed
roaring in and through all the windows and the
doors. And at last the ship plunged right down
to the bottom of the sea, making a dreadful
gurgling sound; and the six bad men were left
bobbing about in the deep water of the bay.
Some of them started to swim for the shores
of the island; while others came and tried to get
on to the boat where the Doctor was. But Jip
kept snapping at their noses, so they were afraid
to climb up the side of the ship.
Then suddenly they all cried out in great fear,
"THE SHARKS! The sharks are coming! Let us
get on to the ship before they eat us! Help,
help!—The sharks! The sharks!"
And now the Doctor could see, all over the
bay, the backs of big fishes swimming swiftly
through the water.
And one great shark came near to the ship,
and poking his nose out of the water he said to
the Doctor,
"Are you John Dolittle, the famous animal-
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