The Island of Destiny (13 page)

The good ship
Apple Pie
was sailing along the rocky coast of the island. Her sails were patched. Her deck was repaired. The
Jolly Rat
hung triumphantly from her foremast. To Whisker, the ramshackle vessel was nothing short of magnificent.

Whisker's greatest joy, however, came from the sight of the figure in red prancing across the deck, her unmistakable confidence revealed in every stride.

As Whisker stared, starry-eyed, a pint-sized rat darted from the stairwell, bowling her over in a comical collision.

Ruby and Horace,
Whisker sighed
. How I've missed you both …

The
Apple Pie
turned port side, following the contours of the island and Whisker caught sight of a bright yellow boat bobbing behind her. The Pie Rats had company.

‘Is there a way down these cliffs, Father?' the Captain asked.

‘Further along,' the Hermit whispered, swallowing the last of his jelly. ‘Hermit shows you secret cove, hidden from sight.'

‘What about the Cat Fish?' Whisker asked apprehensively. ‘Will they come looking for us?'

‘It's not likely,' the Captain replied. ‘Their ship is unguarded. I doubt they'd gamble their ticket off this island for a wild rat-chase. Still, we'd better keep moving.'

He signalled to the
Apple Pie
with his sword and the much-loved vessel disappeared from sight behind a rocky outcrop of the island. The rats continued south along the edge of the cliffs, slowly making their way to lower ground.

Whisker and his two companions reached the cliffs surrounding the cove at dusk and found Smudge waiting for them. The excited blowfly clutched the branches of a small bush, joyfully buzzing his wings in the wind.

‘Friend or foe?' the Hermit asked, eyeing the tiny creature suspiciously.

‘Loveable mascot,' the Captain replied.

‘He's stronger than he looks,' Whisker said proudly. ‘Smudge once kicked the winning goal in a game of Death Ball.'

Smudge raised a small foot in the air as if to say
it's all in the technique.

The Hermit gave Smudge a nod of approval and began dragging a crudely woven rope from behind a bush.

‘One way down,' he chuckled.

Whisker peered over the edge. Steep cliffs curved to either side of him, forming a sheltered cove. There was no sign of the
Apple Pie.
The Hermit tied one end of the rope around the woody stem of a large bush and lowered the other end over the edge.

‘
Apple Pie
is anchored beneath rocky overhang,' he said, pointing below. ‘Whisker goes first, yes, yes?'

The rope appeared strong enough to support Whisker's weight, and he knew that even if it snapped, he wouldn't have far to fall. He was eager to see his friends and scrambled down the rope with little hesitation.

The
Apple Pie
came into view almost immediately. Whisker saw Emmie and Fred waving to him from the centre of the deck. Pete stood behind the wheel, steering the ship into position. Ruby and Horace crouched on the bulwark, ready to drag him aboard with candy canes, and Eaton and Mr Tribble waited in the shadows of the mainmast.

As Whisker climbed further down the rope he saw two silhouettes in the navigation room – one was tall and slender, the other broad-shouldered and portly.

The
Apple Pie
glided under Whisker and he leapt the last metre onto the ship. He heard the sound of candy canes dropping to the deck, and the next moment, he was in the middle of a five-way hug with Horace, Ruby, Fred and Emmie.

Horace's hook dug into Whisker's ribs, Fred's giant chest almost suffocated him to death and in all the excitement he was certain someone kissed him on the cheek. No one seemed to care that he smelt of onion and the group hug continued for some time.

From the middle of the pack, all Whisker managed to say was a muffled, ‘You're alive, you're alive, you're alive.'

‘Of course we're alive,
onion
boy,' Ruby said with an endearing grin. ‘We couldn't let you find the treasure without us.'

Whisker looked into her sparkling green eye and tried to find something charming to say. His brain somehow confused
charming
with
stupid
.

‘Err, nice flowery eye patch thingy,' he blurted out, regretting the words before they'd left his mouth.

Ruby moved her paw to her hibiscus-patterned eye patch.

‘A tacky souvenir from Drumstick Island Retirement Resort,' she confessed. ‘It was the only design that came in red.'

‘I preferred the skull-and-cross-bones print,' Horace said.

Ruby rolled her eye. ‘You're so mainstream, Horace.'

Whisker moved his paw to his pocket, but before he could grab Ruby's crimson eye patch he heard a loud shout from behind him.

He turned to see the Captain drop from the bottom of the rope, fuming with rage. The Captain raised his finger and pointed across the deck.

‘What's he doing here?' he roared.

Whisker followed the Captain's finger to the navigation room where two figures stood side by side in the twilight. One was Madam Pearl, the wealthy white weasel and fugitive friend of the Pie Rats; the other was Rat Bait, scoundrel, rogue and double-crosser.

Reunions

The Captain stormed across the deck, barging past his stunned crew like a rampaging bull.

‘You've got a nerve showing up here, Rat Bait,' he shouted. ‘After all your lies and deceit, you decide to weasel your way onto my ship.' His eyes flashed at Madam Pearl and then back to Rat Bait. ‘I know a few cats that would kill to have a rat like you aboard their vessel.'

Rat Bait took a step backwards, extending the open palms of his paws in front of him.

‘I been meanin' ye no disrespect, Capt'n Black Rat,' he gabbled. ‘I can explain everythin'…'

The Captain grabbed Rat Bait by his tattered blue collar and threw him to the deck.

‘EXPLAIN?' the Captain roared. ‘Explain what? How you deserted your captain, dishonoured his name and then lied to his family?'

Pure terror flashed through Rat Bait's eyes. ‘How did ye …?'

‘FIND OUT?' the Captain shouted. ‘I'll tell you how I found out. I asked a dead rat!'

Rat Bait froze.

A gentle
thud
rippled through the deck. All eyes fixed on the stranger at the end of the rope.

‘It can't be,' Rat Bait choked, turning pale. ‘We thought he was gone …'

‘You thought WRONG!' the Captain bellowed. ‘And now you'll pay for your mistake.' The Captain raised his paw, ready to strike.

‘Let him go,' the Hermit said in a soft voice.

‘Let him go?' the Captain gasped. ‘There's no way I'm letting him go until he gets what he deserves.'

The Hermit moved closer. ‘What he deserves and what he will get are two different things.'

‘How can you say that?' the Captain fumed. ‘Look what he did to you. He stole your life. He took your freedom. Surely you hate him as much as I do?'

The Hermit looked down at the trembling body of Rat Bait.

‘Hate didn't keep Hermit alive on windy, windy island,' he said pensively. ‘No, no. Hate blew away in the wind.' He paused. ‘Onions kept Hermit alive – Captain gives Rat Bait onions.'

‘WHAT!' the Captain cried in astonishment. ‘Onions? You can't be serious. Can't you see what he is? What he will do?'

‘He came to help you, Captain,' Madam Pearl said boldly. ‘I know it's not my place but …'

‘You're right, it's not your place!' the Captain snapped, turning to Pete for support.

‘We had no choice,' Pete said deadpan. ‘Rat Bait repaired the
Apple Pie
free of charge. We used the silver plates to purchase the materials, but there was nothing left for the labour.'

‘A likely story,' the Captain muttered. ‘I suppose he decided to stay onboard when he heard we'd located the key.'

Rat Bait shook his head but kept his mouth shut.

‘We volunteered for the voyage when we heard you went overboard,' Madam Pearl explained. ‘I for one had a debt to repay after you rescued me from Prison Island.' She shot Whisker a grateful look.

‘And you, Rat Bait?' the Captain growled. ‘What's your excuse? Treasure? A reward?'

‘G-guilt …' Rat Bait quavered, staring at the Hermit. ‘Guilt for past indiscretions.'

There was silence and the Captain slowly lowered his fist. ‘I know your type, Rat Bait. I know what you're playing at. When this is all over, we'll see who you really are.' Without a word to his crew, the Captain strode past Rat Bait and stormed down the stairs.

Shell-shocked, the crew stared after him.

‘Well, that went well,' Horace muttered.

Whisker didn't know what to say – or what to think. It certainly wasn't the joyous reunion he'd been expecting. Rat Bait was a greedy coward and a first-class liar, granted, but part of Whisker wanted to believe the scoundrel had truly changed his ways. In the end, Whisker decided it was best to act as the gracious rat his mother had taught him to be and helped Rat Bait to his feet.

‘‘Tis a pleasure to see ye again, li'l Whisker,' Rat Bait said, in a shaky voice. ‘Lady Luck is still on yer side I see.'

Whisker nodded expressionlessly. Rat Bait took a deep breath and extended his paw to the Hermit. ‘For what it's worth, I offer ye me loyalty, Capt'n Ratsputin. I don't expect yer forgiveness. But I'll take yer onions an' do me best to make things right.'

The Hermit stared long and hard at Rat Bait, his ears twitching from left to right as he considered the scoundrel's apology. Finally he spoke in a resolute voice. ‘Hermit doubted any of his crew would return. Hermit is glad he was wrong.' He clutched Rat Bait's paw and laughed, ‘Onions can wait. Hermit wants potato pies!'

Fred acknowledged the Hermit's request with an affirmative grunt and wandered below to the galley, quickly followed by Mr Tribble. The others crowded around the Hermit. Ruby looked unusually flustered.

Horace nudged Whisker and whispered, ‘So that's Ruby's grandfather, right?'

‘Uh huh,' Whisker replied.

The Hermit gave Ruby a warm smile and Ruby's face contorted into a pained frown. She buried her head in her paws and sprinted down the stairs. The Hermit stared after her in disappointment.

‘Don't take it personally,' Horace said, trying to cheer him up. ‘You were the most hated rat on the seven seas until five minutes ago. But don't worry, she'll get over it – she's got Rat Bait to hate now.'

The Hermit looked far from comforted. Rat Bait gave a resigned shrug. Whisker dragged Horace over to the navigation room before he could make things worse. They passed Madam Pearl on their way.

‘Hello, Whisker,' she said in an elegant voice. ‘Staying alive, I see?'

‘Only just,' Whisker replied honestly. ‘And you, Madam Pearl?'