Ship of Death (3 page)

 

Edgar and Mary ran around the deck, pulling on the ropes that set the sails.

The ship was pointing towards the mouth of the harbour and out to sea. Outside the harbour mouth they could see a line of jagged rocks.

All the time, the ship kept trying to hurt them.

Edgar ducked as another hook skimmed over his head. As he crouched down, he saw the axe lying on the deck.

Of course!
he thought.
I can just cut the sails loose and then the ship won't be able to move
.

He ran over to the mast and started hacking at the ropes that held the sails up.

The ship lurched to one side. The wheel spun.

 

 

The wheel hit one of Mr Blood's hands with a cracking sound. He gasped in pain and stepped back.

Edgar turned just in time to see one of the huge booms swinging across the deck towards him. He had no time to get out of the way.

The boom pushed Edgar across the deck.

As he reached the edge of the ship, one of the ropes on the floor coiled itself around his leg.

He tripped over and fell against the ship's rail. The rail gave way and Edgar plunged into the water.

 

 

Edgar hated boats, but he was a very good swimmer.

He swam away from the boat and then trod water. When he looked up, the boat was sailing away from him.

“Swim for the rocks!” yelled Mr Blood. His voice already sounded a long way off.

Edgar could see that Mary was at the wheel and was trying to turn it.

But it was too strong for Mr Blood
, thought Edgar.
What chance does Mary have?

Edgar looked around. He was outside the harbour. The closest land was the jagged rocks he had seen earlier. They looked a long way away.

He started to swim to the rocks.

He hoped that Mary would be able to turn the ship around. The tide was pulling him towards the rocks and soon he found he had swum half way there.

He trod water for a few moments, looking back to see where the ship was. He could see it in the distance.

It was turning round!

But as he looked harder, his heart sank. Mary was not at the wheel. Nobody was. And that meant that the ship was turning
itself
around.

In a few seconds the ship was pointing right at Edgar. It began to cross the waves, coming towards him.

It's coming to get me!
Edgar thought. He was very scared.

Edgar kicked his feet hard and swam towards the rocks as fast as he could. But he was getting tired, so he was moving more slowly.

He looked over his shoulder and saw that the ship was racing through the water, helped along by the tide.

He kicked again. This time, one of his feet hit something hard.

“Rocks!” shouted Edgar.

He looked down through the water and saw that he was swimming above a huge, sharp flake of rock.

 

 

Edgar followed the ridge of the rock with his feet. It was just under the surface of the water. Then it started dipping away again.

He swam as fast as he could. He had to reach the rocks before the ship got him.

Edgar looked back and saw that the ghost ship was close behind him. The ship seemed to loom over him. It looked huge.

Edgar knew it would hit him in a few seconds. He saw Mary leaning over the side of the ship. She was waving and shouting at him to get out of the way.

At least she's still alive
, he thought as he closed his eyes.

The next thing he heard was an ear-splitting, scraping, screeching crunch.

The ship screamed as it hit the hidden rocks and was cut open. It tipped over to one side. Mr Blood, Mary and Tom all fell into the water.

“The rocks!” yelled Edgar. “Swim for those rocks! Get away from the ship!”

The four of them swam for their lives. Edgar helped pull Tom along and Mary helped Mr Blood.

At last they scrambled onto the rocks. A loud crack like a cannon shot made them all jump and turn.

The ghost ship had snapped in two. With a final groan it sank beneath the waves.

 

 

“Well done, Edgar,” said Mr Blood. “We could not sail the ship. But when you swam to the rocks, the ship came after you. You were very brave.”