Ship of Death (2 page)

Edgar and Mary could hear Mr Blood moving around below deck, opening and shutting things.

Then he called up to them.

 

 

“Get down here,” he shouted. “And bring something we can use to break down a door.”

Edgar looked around the deck and saw a small axe. Its blade was rusty, but it was all he could find. He picked it up.

Mary and Tom had already gone down the hatch.

Mr Blood was looking at a closed door near the front of the ship.

“I had a quick look around,” he said. “There is no one here. Then I found this door. It's locked and I can't find a key. I want to break it open.”

Edgar handed the axe to Mr Blood. “But are you sure we should open the door?” he asked. “If this is such a bad ship, can't we just sink it?”

“I want to find out what happened to Pete,” said Tom.

Edgar sighed. He didn't like danger. Mary smiled. She loved it!

“Right,” said Mr Blood. “Let's have a look.” He got ready to hit the door.

But just as he was about to bring the axe smashing down, the door swung open by itself.

Mr Blood's eyes opened wide at what he saw inside the room.

Old Tom put a hand to his mouth.

Mary gasped.

Edgar turned green again.

The room was filled with a huge pile of human bones.

 

Mr Blood bent down and put the axe on the floor.

“Stay here,” he said to the others. They didn't argue with him. Mr Blood took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

As soon as he was in the room, the door slammed shut.

Edgar and Mary shouted in terror. Mr Blood began banging on the door.

“I can't open the door!” Mr Blood shouted.

Tom and Edgar pulled at the door. It didn't open.

Then they heard a loud clanking, rattling sound from above. It sounded as if the anchor was being raised.

Slowly, the ship was beginning to move. It wasn't just rocking in the water. It had started turning around.

“I remember this happened when Pete went aboard three years ago. The anchor came up and the ship sailed away,” said Tom.

“But who is pulling it up?” cried Mary. “We must stop them!”

“Let's go up and look,” said Edgar. He picked up the axe and gave it to Tom.

“Tom, break down the door,” Edgar said. “Get Mr Blood out.”

Tom started to hit the door with the axe.

Edgar and Mary ran back up to the deck.

Up in the open air, it seemed as if the ship had come alive. The anchor lay on the deck. The ropes were coiled up. The sails were stretched out from the masts.

“But there is still nobody here!” shouted Mary.

 

 

“The ship must be haunted,” said Edgar. “All those bones…”

Mr Blood and Tom came up on deck. Old Tom had let Mr Blood out of the room.

“It's not haunted by their ghosts, my boy,” Mr Blood said. “Those poor people were trapped in there by the ship itself.”

“One of them was Pete,” added Tom. “Look, this was his hat.”

 

 

“So what's going on?” asked Edgar.

“It's the ship doing all this,” said Mr Blood. “Don't you see? The ship kills anyone who comes aboard. Now it is trying to kill us.”

“Then there's only one thing to be done,” said Mary. “We'll have to kill the ship.”

“What do we do?” asked Edgar. “Can we smash a hole in the ship's bottom with the axe?”

“Not a chance,” said Tom. “The sides are too thick.”

“So how can we kill a ship?” Mary asked.

“The only way to stop the ship is to sail her onto the rocks and leave her there to sink,” said Tom. “I can do that.”

“Look out!” shouted Mary.

A heavy metal hook on a rope was swinging down from the rigging. It hit Tom's leg.

 

 

He cried out and fell to the deck, holding his knee. He tried to stand, and fell down again.

“My leg is broken,” he cried. “You'll have to try and steer the ship to the rocks. I'll tell you what to do…”

Old Tom shouted out orders. Mr Blood stood at the wheel and steered the ship.