was suddenly taken with the idea of using his new office, and if he could get there before too much was carried away or someone was hurt, the Duke would be pleased with him. ‘All right,’ he said, ‘I’ll saddle a horse and we can ride down there before everything is stolen.’ Pug turned and ran for the stable. Tomas caught up with him as he opened the large wooden doors. ‘But, Pug, I have never been on a horse in my life. I don’t know how.’
‘It’s simple,’ Pug said, taking a bridle and saddle from the tack room. He spied the large grey he had ridden the day he and the Princess had their adventure. ‘I’ll ride and you sit behind me. Just keep your arms around my waist, and you won’t fall off.’
Tomas looked doubtful. ‘I’m to depend on you?’ He shook his head. ‘After all, who has looked after you all these years?’
Pug threw him a wicked smile. ‘Your mother. Now fetch a sword from the armory in case there’s trouble. You may get to play soldier yet.’
Tomas looked pleased at the prospect and ran out the door. A few minutes later the large grey with the two boys mounted on her back lumbered out the main gate, heading down the road toward Sailor’s Grief.
The surf was pounding as the boys came in sight of the wreckage. Only a few villagers were approaching the site, and they scattered as soon as a horse and rider appeared, for it could only be a noble from the court to declare the wreck’s salvage for the Duke. By the time Pug reined in, no one was about.
Pug said, ‘Come on. We’ve got a few minutes to look around before anyone else gets here.’
Dismounting, the boys left the mare to graze in a little stand of grass only fifty yards from the rocks. Running through the sand, the boys laughed, with Tomas raising the sword aloft, trying to sound fierce as he yelled old war cries learned from the sagas. Not that he had any delusions about his ability to use it, but it might make someone think twice about attacking them – at least long enough for castle guards to arrive.
As they neared the wreck, Tomas whistled a low note. ‘This ship didn’t just run on the rocks, Pug. It looks like it was driven by a storm.’
Pug said, ‘There certainly isn’t much left, is there?’
Tomas scratched behind his right ear. ‘No, just a section of the bow. I don’t understand. There wasn’t any storm last night, just a strong wind. How could the ship be broken up so badly?’
‘I don’t know.’ Suddenly something registered on Pug. ‘Look at the bow. See how it’s painted.’
The bow rested on the rocks, held there until the tide rose. From the deck line down, the hull was painted a bright green, and it shone with reflected sunlight, as if it had been glazed over. Instead of a figurehead, intricate designs were painted in bright yellow, down to the waterline, which was a dull black. A large blue-and-white eye had been painted several feet behind the prow, and all the above-deck railing that they could see was painted white.
Pug grabbed Tomas’s arm. ‘Look!’ He pointed to the water behind the prow, and Tomas could see a shattered white mast extending a few feet above the surging foam.
Tomas took a step closer. ‘It’s no Kingdom ship, for certain.’ He turned to Pug. ‘Maybe they were from Queg?’
‘No,’ answered Pug. ‘You’ve seen as many Quegan ships as I have. This is nothing from Queg or the Free Cities. I don’t think a ship like this has ever passed these waters before. Let’s look around.’
Tomas seemed suddenly timid. ‘Careful, Pug. There is something strange here, and I have an ill feeling. Someone may still be about.’
Both boys looked around for a minute, before Pug concluded, ‘I think not; whatever snapped that mast and drove the ship ashore with enough force to wreck it this badly must have killed any who tried to ride her in.’
Venturing closer, the boys found small articles lying about, tossed among the rocks by the waves. They saw broken crockery and boards, pieces of torn red sailcloth, and lengths of rope. Pug stopped and picked up a strange-looking dagger fashioned from some unfamiliar material. It was a dull grey and was lighter than steel, but still quite sharp.
Tomas tried to pull himself to the railing, but couldn’t find a proper footing on the slippery rocks. Pug moved along the hull until he found himself in danger of having his boots washed by the tide; they could board the hull if they waded into the sea, but Pug was unwilling to ruin his good clothing. He walked back to where Tomas stood studying the wreck.
Tomas pointed behind Pug. ‘If we climb up to that ledge, we could lower ourselves down to the deck.’
Pug saw the ledge, a jutting single piece of stone that started twenty feet back on their left, extending upward and out to overhang the bow. It looked like an easy climb, and Pug agreed. They pulled themselves up and inched along the ledge, backs flat to the base of the bluffs. The path was narrow, but by stepping carefully, they ran little risk of falling. They reached a point above the hull; Tomas pointed. ‘Look. Bodies!’
Lying on the deck were two men, both dressed in bright blue armor of unfamiliar design. One had his head crushed by a fallen spar, but the other, lying facedown, didn’t show any injuries, beyond his stillness. Strapped across that man’s back was an alien-looking broadsword, with strange serrated edges. His head was covered by an equally alien-looking blue helmet, potlike, with an outward flaring edge on the sides and back. Tomas shouted over the sound of the surf, ‘I’m going to let myself down. After I get on the deck, hand me the sword, and then lower yourself so I can grab you.’
Tomas handed Pug the sword, then turned around slowly. He knelt with his face against the cliff wall. Sliding backward, he let himself down until he was almost hanging free. With a shove he dropped the remaining four feet, landing safely. Pug reversed the sword and handed it down to Tomas, then followed his friend’s lead, and in a moment they both stood on the deck. The foredeck slanted alarmingly down toward the water, and they could feel the ship move beneath their feet.
‘The tide’s rising,’ Tomas shouted. ‘It’ll lift what’s left of the ship and smash it on the rocks. Everything will be lost.’
‘Look around,’ Pug shouted back. ‘Anything that looks worth saving we can try to throw up on the ledge.’
Tomas nodded, and the boys started to search the deck. Pug put as much space as he could between the bodies and himself when he passed them. All across the deck, debris created a confused spectacle for the eye. Trying to discern what might prove valuable and what might not was difficult. At the rear of the deck was a shattered rail, on either side of a ladder to what was left of the main deck below: about six feet of planking remaining above the water. Pug was sure that only a few feet more could be underwater, or else the ship would be higher on the rocks. The rear of the ship must have already been carried away on the tide.
Pug lay down on the deck and hung his head over the edge. He saw a door to the right of the ladder. Yelling for Tomas to join him, he made his way carefully down the ladder. The lower deck was sagging, the undersupports having been caved in. He grasped the handrail of the ladder for support. A moment later Tomas stood beside him, stepped around Pug, and moved to the door. It hung half-open, and he squeezed through with Pug a step behind. The cabin was dark, for there was only a single port on the bulkhead next to the door. In the gloom they could see many rich-looking pieces of fabric and the shattered remnants of a table. What looked like a cot or low bed lay upside down in a corner. Several small chests could be seen, with their contents spread around the room as if tossed about by some
