The Broken Sun (15 page)

‘It means we're making progress,' Mr Doyle said. ‘This is the same handwriting as
the note Amelia received and the one about the British Museum.'

‘How does this relate to Phillip?'

‘I still don't know. We started investigating the reappearance of a watch and now
we're on a hunt to find New Atlantis.'

‘Maybe the robbery at the museum was a coincidence.'

‘It would be an enormous coincidence.' Mr Doyle shook his head. ‘No, I believe it
is connected, but we don't have all the pieces yet.'

That night they ate dinner with Phoebe, Scarlet, Charles Spaulding and his men. Their
meal was prepared by Sandra Clegg, the ship's elderly cook.

‘That was lovely,' Mr Doyle said.

‘I'm glad you enjoyed it, sir. Steak and kidney pie is one of my specialties.'

Mr Doyle asked Spaulding about his previous adventures.

‘I've been to every continent except Antarctica,' he said. ‘Mind you, some I've only
passed through. White men have barely explored Africa or South America.'

‘It's incredible that we haven't fully explored our own world,' Scarlet said. ‘Yet
we've reached into space with the metrotowers and they're even talking about sending
a ship to the moon.'

‘After the war, the League of Nations created treaties to protect native peoples,'
Mr Spaulding said. ‘And a good thing too, otherwise they would have been ruthlessly
exploited by colonial powers.'

Mr Doyle turned to Kip and Tan. ‘And what about you? Where have you travelled?'

Kip recounted their extensive expeditions through the South Pacific. Tan had lived
in England for a time, but found it too cold.

‘People should not live with white rain,' he said.

‘You mean snow?'

‘Snow is bad. Too cold.'

Mr Doyle turned to Kip. ‘You said earlier about magic,' he said. ‘Can you tell me
more?'

Kip's eyes shifted. ‘Should not speak of such things. Bad luck.'

‘Surely not. You mentioned a woman.'

‘She was a witch,' Kip said. ‘Powerful woman.'

‘A witch!' Jack cried. ‘You mean with a broom and a—'

‘Probably not that kind of witch,' Mr Doyle said gently.

‘She lived alone,' Kip continued. ‘Made medicine for people when they were ill, but
she wanted payment.'

‘And if someone did not pay?'

The man's face darkened. ‘My friend had no money. She cursed him. She took a chicken
bone and pointed it in his face and told him he would die.'

‘And what happened?' Jack asked.

Kip shrugged. ‘He died.'

Jack had heard about people dying from chicken bones before, but usually when they
got stuck in their throats.

‘There is no such thing as magic,' Mr Doyle said as Jack and Scarlet took a stroll
with him around the deck the next morning. ‘But the mind is a very powerful tool.
An individual can lose the will to live.'

‘Have you come across such a thing before?' Scarlet asked.

Mr Doyle sighed. ‘I didn't want to live after Phillip's death,' he said. ‘I went
through a bad patch on my return to England.'

‘I'm sorry to hear that, sir,' Jack said. ‘It must have been very hard for you.'

‘I was shell shocked from the war and I spent time in a soldier's hospital. Arriving
home, I tried speaking to Amelia, but she blamed me for Phillip's death. I sank into
a despair that lasted months.'

Jack found it hard to believe that such an exuberant man as Mr Doyle could be affected
by such unhappiness.

‘What finally brought you out of it?' Scarlet asked. ‘How did you—'

‘Come back to life? A woman approached me because her brother had been murdered.
After hearing her story, I realised her life was also in danger. I tracked down the
killer and was able to stop a further tragedy.'

‘So helping someone else also helped you.'

‘Precisely. I often think we do not exist for ourselves, but for each other.' Tears
pricked the corners of Mr Doyle's eyes. ‘The woman I helped was Gloria.'

No-one said anything for a moment. Jack knew Gloria was more than a receptionist
to Mr Doyle. She cared for him like a mother. Now Jack began to appreciate how much
Gloria must mean to him. Her presence had literally saved his life.

Phoebe arrived, dressed again in her trousers and a shirt. Jack wasn't sure he would
ever get used to it.

‘We're due to arrive in Morocco soon,' she said.
‘The Captain intends to stock up
on our supplies.'

‘Hasn't he already done that?' Mr Doyle said. ‘The hold seems full.'

‘It's just a precaution. We don't know how long we'll be away.'

Jack could tell that Mr Doyle was keen to keep moving. Every moment wasted meant
that Gloria and Professor Clarke's condition would continue to deteriorate.

‘And we have an additional mystery,' Phoebe went on. ‘It seems there is a thief on
board. Last night Sandra, the cook, discovered food missing. She saw someone running
away down the passageway. She gave chase, but they escaped.'

‘Interesting,' Mr Doyle said. ‘We will investigate. It will keep our mental muscles
limber.'

Mr Doyle thanked Phoebe, and they all went to find Sandra in the kitchen preparing
vegetables.

‘He was small,' Sandra told them, describing the thief. ‘It was very dark so I didn't
get a good look at him. He was headed towards the stern.'

Mr Doyle nodded thoughtfully. ‘Have you worked for Mr Bradstreet long?'

‘This is my first voyage,' the woman said. ‘But I've been a cook for several years.'

They approached Tobias Bradstreet next, who confessed to being equally puzzled by
the incident. Most of the crew had worked for him for years. They had no reason to
steal food: the rations were generous.

‘All this reminds me of a Brinkie Buckeridge story,' Scarlet said when they returned
to Mr Doyle and Jack's cabin.

‘Doesn't everything?' Jack asked.

She glared at him. ‘Brinkie's adventures are so true to life it's inevitable we should
come across similar situations ourselves. Anyway, Brinkie was on a ship heading
to Brazil to visit a cousin.'

‘The cannibal cousin?'

‘No. Another cousin. Abernathy.'

‘This one has never eaten human flesh?'

‘What's this fixation you have with cannibalism?'

‘I'm just checking.'

‘Food was being stolen on board the ship. The captain was ruthless, making his crew
walk the plank as he tried to determine the identity of the secret eater. Finally
there remained only the captain and Abernathy.'

‘Bazookas.'

‘You'll never guess who it turned out to be,' Scarlet said smugly.

‘Allow me,' Mr Doyle intervened. ‘There was a stowaway.'

Scarlet looked at him in amazement. ‘Have you read the book?' she asked. ‘I know
you're a purveyor of fine literature.'

‘I haven't read that particular volume, but it seemed likely that once all the other
possibilities were eliminated—the other crew members, that is—then what remained
was most likely.'

Mr Doyle removed an odd-looking rock from his pocket and, dusting it off, decided
it was a lump of cheese. Popping it into his mouth, he said, ‘We must remain alert.
A stowaway could damage the engines, or the balloon, or some other vital piece of
equipment. They could even bring about the destruction of this airship.'

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A few days later they reached Rabat, a city on the coast of Morocco. Much of the
trade conducted on the continent passed through here on its way to Europe. Mr Doyle
decided to stay aboard the
Explorer
, so Phoebe offered to take Jack and Scarlet around
the city while the airship was restocked.

The sea was a blanket of sparkling diamonds and the air warm, filled with competing
scents of curries, spices and flavoured tobacco. The streets were narrow and Phoebe
was careful to keep away from dark alleys. Jack was nervous about wandering around
the foreign city—it felt like visiting another planet—but fear soon turned to fascination.
Most buildings were constructed
from adobe, painted blue and ivory. Others were stone.

One of the most interesting parts of the city was the Hassan Tower, an enormous square
edifice dominating the landscape and surrounded by hundreds of columns.

Phoebe briefly explained its history. ‘The tower is the minaret of a mosque. Construction
began in the twelfth century, but it was never finished.' She pointed at the columns.
‘They were also part of the mosque. It would have been one of the wonders of the
world, if completed.'

‘I had no idea anything like this existed,' Jack said.

‘Europeans often forget the accomplishments of cultures different to our own.'

Late in the day, they wandered through the market. Awnings of crimson, yellow and
blue hung over the alleys, protecting the streets from the hot afternoon sun. The
clamour was overwhelming, disconcerting—and intoxicating. Hundreds of stallholders,
many with wares Jack had never seen, tried to catch the attention of visitors. They
sold water pipes for smoking, herbs, brightly coloured fabrics, jewellery and religious
paraphernalia. Stallholders cooked food on hotplates over small fires, filling the
air with the smells of curry, turmeric and chilli.

They spotted a familiar face among the crowd.

‘There's Reg Smythe,' Jack said.

‘Hello passengers,' he said, smiling as they pushed through the bustle. ‘You've been
allowed out for the day.'

‘As have you,' Phoebe said.

‘Please join me for coffee.'

They followed Smythe into a tiny café adjoining the marketplace and found a table
at a window where they could watch the passing traffic. Men sat about, smoking from
water pipes, the smell of aromatic tobacco filling the air.

Smythe ordered coffee for himself and Phoebe, and hot chocolates for Jack and Scarlet.

When their drinks arrived, Jack took a cautious sip. His eyes popped.
It tasted heavenly.

‘You must tell us about your previous adventures,' Phoebe said to Smythe.

He waved a hand. ‘There's little to tell,' he said. ‘And none of it would compare
to your own. You've been to Egypt, I understand.'

Phoebe spoke about her experiences. ‘Camels are a wonderful form of transport,' she
said, ‘but they take some getting used to.'

‘In what way?' Jack asked.

‘You need to sit back when the camel stands up or sits down. The first time I climbed
onto one, I fell off and landed on my head!'

‘The pyramids and the Sphinx must be quite incredible,' Smythe said.

Phoebe nodded. ‘There has been quite a bit of conjecture about how they were built.
Scientists believe ancient people were quite advanced when it came to engineering.
Others suggest more outrageous theories.'

‘Such as?'

‘Oh, visitors from other worlds.'

‘What?' Jack said, astonished.

Reg Smythe sat up. ‘I've seen many ancient temples,' he said. ‘You
do
wonder how
they built them using such old techniques.'

‘Which ones have you seen?' Phoebe asked.

Smythe laughed. ‘Too many to list.' He glanced at his watch. ‘I'd better keep moving.
I promised the captain I'd pick up a few supplies.' He paid for their drinks and
headed off.

‘I suppose we'd better do the same,' Phoebe said. ‘I promised Ignatius I'd buy him
some cheese.'

On the way to a cheese merchant in the middle of the market, they stopped to watch
a snake charmer who had members of the crowd transfixed as a cobra moved about hypnotically
on a mat.

‘Your friend, Mr Beethoven, would enjoy this,' Jack said to Scarlet. ‘It sounds like
his music.'

‘His music is
nothing
like this,' Scarlet said. ‘And you must develop an appreciation
for the finer arts.'

‘I do like music,' Jack said. ‘Just not classical.'

Phoebe completed her purchase. ‘There's a new style of music called jazz that's becoming
very popular in the United States,' she said, smiling at Jack. ‘It has a beat you
can tap your foot to and songs you can sing.'

‘I'll keep an eye, er, ear out for it.'

They eventually made their way back to the
Explorer
.

‘I've kept tabs on Ignatius over the years,' Phoebe said to them. ‘I've been most
impressed by his career.'

‘You've never been married?' Jack asked.

‘Jack! Are you proposing?'

Jack turned so red that Scarlet almost fell over laughing.

The archaeologist continued more seriously. ‘No,' she said. ‘My only near-miss was
with Ignatius. My whole life has been one of exploration. I've never had time for
families. I would have loved to have children, but there was always too much to do.
Besides,' she added. ‘You never forget your first love.'

When night fell the great engines of the
Explorer
roared back to life. Smoke billowed
from the rear of the vessel as the airship left the coast behind.

Jack and Scarlet went out onto the deck to watch Rabat shrink into the distance.

‘It must be fantastic,' Jack said. ‘To spend your life exploring new places.'

‘What do you think will happen to Mr Doyle when all this is over?' Scarlet asked.

‘What do you mean?'

‘It's just that he and Phoebe seem to be getting on very well.'

‘They are old friends,' Jack said, staring at Scarlet. ‘What are you trying to say?'

‘I'm saying they seem to be getting along
really
well.'

‘Have you been eating too much beef jerky? Are you saying they might get married?'