Arthur Ransome - Swallows and Amazons (Complete Series)

They made a fire in the fireplace, and by the time they were sitting round it drinking their tea they had begun to think that they had been altogether wrong in thinking that the pirate flag had been hoisted on the Amazon for them to see. They began even not to be sure that they had heard the gun in Houseboat Bay.

“Why did the man on the houseboat shake his fist at us?” said Titty. “Something must have happened to make him.”

“Perhaps he didn’t really,” said John.

“I don’t suppose we shall ever see the pirates again,” said Titty sadly.

“If they were pirates,” said Susan.

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In the morning John was the first to wake. It was already late. The sun was high overhead. The first days had gone by on which the beginning of the morning light had been enough to waken the explorers. They had grown used to sleeping in a tent. Besides, yesterday, so much had happened. John woke not very happy. Yesterday seemed unreal and wasted. Those pirates, the gun in Houseboat Bay, the chase up the lake to Rio were a sort of dream. He woke in ordinary life. Well, he thought, one could hardly expect that sort of thing to last, and it was almost a pity it had begun. After all, even if there were no pirates, the island was real enough and so was Swallow. He could do without the pirates. It was time to fetch the milk.

He looked at the lump of blanket on the other side of the tent and decided to let it sleep. He crawled out of his own blankets, put his sandshoes on, picked up the bundle of his clothes and a towel, and slipped out into the lonely sunlight. Taking the milk-can with him he ran down to the landing-place. He splashed out into the water and swam hard for a minute or two. This was better than washing. Then he floated in the sunshine with only his nose and mouth above water. Seagulls were picking minnows from the surface not far away. Perhaps one of them would swoop down on him by mistake. Could it tow him by flying while he clung to its black hanging legs? But the seagulls kept well away from him, and he turned on his side again and swam back to the landing-place. Then he ran through the trees to the harbour, put his clothes and the towel and the milk-can into Swallow, and pushed off.

He rowed hard for the beach by the oak tree below Dixon’s Farm. The sunshine and the warm southerly wind had almost dried him before he reached it. He gave a dry polish with the towel to the bits of him that seemed damp, put his clothes on, and hurried up the field.

“You’re not so early this morning,” said Mrs. Dixon, the farmer’s wife.

“No,” said John.

“What would you say to a bit of toffee?” said Mrs. Dixon. “I’d nothing to do last night so I fettled you up a baking. Four of you, aren’t there?”

“Thank you very much,” said John.

She gave him a big bag of brown toffee when she brought back the milk-can after filling it with milk.

“Have you had breakfast?” she asked.

“Not yet.”

“And you’ve been bathing already. I can see by your hair. You’d better put something into you. Stop a minute while I get you a bit of cake.”

After swimming, a bit of cake is very welcome, and John saw no harm in eating it. But while he was eating it, Mrs. Dixon said: “Mr. Turner of the houseboat has been asking about you. You haven’t been meddling with his houseboat, have you?”

“No,” said John.

“Well, he seems to think you have,” said Mrs. Dixon. “You’d better leave Mr. Turner and his parrot alone.”

Yesterday suddenly became real once more. John remembered how he had thought he had seen the retired pirate on the houseboat shaking his fist at them. In a moment he was Captain John, responsible for his ship and his crew, and Mrs. Dixon, the farmer’s wife, was a native, not wholly to be trusted in spite of her toffee and cake.

He set out at once on his way back, thinking that he ought to have wakened the mate before coming to fetch the milk.

But he could see the island from the field below the farm, and smoke was already rising from among the trees. The mate was up and about, the fire was lit, everything was right, and the kettle would be boiling before he got back with the milk.

He hurried down to the shore. Able-seaman Titty and the Boy Roger were splashing about by the island. He saw the two white figures splash up out of the water, kicking it in fountains before them. They were still drying themselves when he brought the Swallow to the landing-place. They helped to pull her up.

“I’ve got some toffee from the natives as well as the milk,” said Captain John.

“Real toffee?” said Roger.

“Molasses,” said Titty. “Toffee is only the native name for it.”

“And I have grave news,” said Captain John. “Something has happened. I shall call a council as soon as we have had breakfast.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” said the able-seaman, and poked the boy, who said, “Aye, aye, sir,” too.

The able-seaman and the boy ran up to the camp with the milk-can and the molasses. The captain followed them, thinking, with his hands in his pockets.

“Breakfast ready, sir,” called the mate cheerfully.

“Thank you, Mister Mate,” said John.

“Here’s the milk,” said Roger.

“And a whole bag of molasses,” said Titty. “Do you know how to make rum punch? That’s made out of molasses, isn’t it?”

“I expect so,” said the mate. “I’ve never tried.”

Tea was ready. Eggs were boiling in the saucepan, and the mate was timing their boiling by the chronometer.

“Three minutes,” she said, “and they’d been in a little before I began to count. They’re done all right now.” She fished the eggs out one by one with a spoon. For some minutes eggs and bread and butter and tea put a stop to talking. After that there was bread and marmalade. After that the mate served out a ration of molasses all round. “Molasses are very good anyhow,” she said. “We’ll make rum punch if there are any molasses we don’t want.”

At last breakfast was over and Captain John spoke.

“Mister Mate,” he said, “I call a council.”

They were all sitting round the fire, which was now burning low. The saucepan full of water was standing among the embers, keeping hot for washing up the stickier things.

Mate Susan sat up and looked about her.

“The whole ship’s company is here, sir,” she said.

“We have an enemy,” said Captain John.

“Who is it?” said Able-seaman Titty eagerly.

“It’s the pirates in the Amazon,” said Roger.

“Shut up,” said the mate.

“You know the man on the houseboat,” said Captain John.

“Yes,” said the mate.

“He has been telling the natives that we have been meddling with his houseboat.”

“But we’ve never touched it.”

“I know we haven’t, but he has been telling them that we have. He is trying to set the natives against us. I don’t know why he hates us, but he does.”

“Then he was shaking his fist at us yesterday,” said the mate.

“I knew he was a retired pirate,” said Titty. “He has a secret. They all have. Either it’s dark deeds or else it’s treasure. Look at the way he fired at the pirate ship. He must have thought they were after his hoard.”

“Yes, but why is he against us?” said John.

“Perhaps this is his island,” said Titty. “You know someone had been here before us and made a fireplace.”

“But if it was his island he would live on it instead of living in the houseboat.”