The Yellow Yacht (2 page)

Dink gulped, then bowed to the king.

“And I am Queen Grace,” said a woman who stepped out from behind the king.

The queen wore a long white gown. The tips of blue shoes showed under the gown’s hem. Around her neck she wore a gold chain suspending a large ruby.

All three kids murmured “Hello” and bowed.

“These are my parents,” Sammi said proudly.

“Welcome to our home,” Queen Grace
said. “Sammi, why don’t you show your friends their rooms now?”

The king and queen walked to a door, where a servant waited to open it. They disappeared down some stairs.

“This is so awesome,” Josh said, gazing from the rooftop. The castle stood at the edge of a small town surrounded on three sides by an ancient wall. The fourth side was the ocean.

Beyond the wall were fields and woods. Dink saw a wide gate in the wall. A winding road snaked through
the fields and disappeared into the mountains.

“Is that your father’s boat?” Ruth Rose asked. She was pointing to a long yellow sailboat in the harbor. The yacht had a tall mast and neatly stowed sails.

“No, we only have a small fishing boat,” Sammi said. He shielded his eyes and peered at the yacht. “I don’t know who owns that one.”

The kids followed Sammi down stone stairs to a carpeted hallway. A man stepped into their path. His eyes were fierce under thick black eyebrows. He wore a white turban, a black tunic, and red trousers.

The man smiled and nodded to Sammi. “May I help, young prince?”

“No, thanks, I’m just showing my friends their rooms,” Sammi said. “Guys, this is Fin, my servant.”

Fin glanced at the kids, then backed
away. “As you wish, young prince.”

“He’s scary!” Josh whispered.

Sammi grinned. “Fin is cool,” he said. “He practices looking scary to keep kidnappers away. All the bedrooms are here.” He pointed to a double set of doors at the end of the hall. “My parents sleep there, and our rooms are this way.”

Sammi led them around a corner and stopped at the first door on the right. “This is my room. You guys can pick yours.”

Dink counted eight closed doors. “These are all bedrooms?” he asked.

Sammi nodded. “Sometimes we have a lot of guests,” he said.

Dink looked at Josh. “You want to share?” he asked.

“Sure. I know you’re afraid of the dark,” Josh teased. He opened the door of the room next to Sammi’s and stepped inside.

“I’ll take the one across the hall from you guys,” Ruth Rose said.

“Okay I’ll see you in about ten minutes,” Sammi said before he went into his room.

“Knock after you unpack,” Ruth Rose told Dink. She went into her room and closed the door.

Before Dink had a chance to follow Josh, he heard a door open. A face peeked out of a room a few yards away. Dark eyes stared at Dink before the face disappeared and the door slammed shut.

Dink shrugged, wondering who else was staying in the castle.

Ten minutes later, Sammi led the kids into the town of Nere. They trekked along a cobblestone road under tall shade trees. Most of the old buildings were made of stone. Everybody they passed smiled and greeted Sammi.

At the harbor, they walked along a stone pier that led to a wide aluminum dock. The water was calm, and several boats and yachts were under sail or motor.

The yellow yacht seemed even bigger now that they were close. Dink noticed that it was not all yellow. There was a green stripe just above the waterline. The name
Sundown
was painted on the side.

“Maybe it belongs to a movie star!” Josh said.

As they gazed across the water, two
men in scuba-diving gear appeared on
Sundown’s
deck. They splashed over the side and disappeared.

“What’re they doing?” Josh asked.

Sammi shrugged. “Maybe my dad knows,” he said. “I’ll ask him later.”

Sammi led the kids farther along the harbor, then stopped where a huge, square hole had been carved out of the earth. Crisscrossing the bare earth was a maze of pipes and cables.

A row of boulders lined one wall of the hole. A green backhoe stood off to one side, like a sleeping dinosaur.

Two men stood together talking. One wore jeans and a T-shirt, with a red bandanna tied around his black hair. The other man was older with gray hair. He wore white pants and a blue shirt.

The man in the red bandanna waved at Sammi.

“That’s Riko. He’s the job foreman,”
Sammi said, with a wave back.

“What is this place, anyway?” Ruth Rose asked.

Sammi spread his arms. “It’s going to be an aquarium!” he said. He pointed to the empty space behind the hole. “Up there will be a school for kids who want to learn about the ocean.”

Sammi grinned at his guests. “Pretty soon, this will be filled with ocean water and plants and fish!” he said.

“What’s that for?” Josh asked. He pointed to a long, wide pipe, half in the water and half out. A machine was attached to the end that was on dry land.

“A motor will pump ocean water up through that pipe,” Sammi explained. “Other pipes will take the water out again, so it’s always clean.”

Dink pictured the finished aquarium with fish and other sea creatures
swimming among those boulders.

Josh whistled. “And your dad is paying for all this!” he said.

Sammi pointed to a stone building next door. A small brass sign said
NERE BANK.

“My grandfather left my father a lot of gold bars,” Sammi said quietly. “They’re in the bank, and that’s what my father is using to pay for the aquarium.”

“That’s great,” Dink said. “So when will the aquarium and school open?”

Sammi shrugged. “My dad says in a few months,” he said. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Riko.”

The kids followed Sammi down a sloping bank into the bottom of the pit.

Riko shook hands with all four kids. He greeted Sammi in Costran, a language Dink had never heard before.

“These are my American friends,
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose,” Sammi said.

“Hello, and welcome,” Riko said in perfect English. His eyes sparkled like black marbles and his teeth gleamed.

Riko turned to the gray-haired man. “This is Dr. Leopold Skor,” he said. “He’s giving me some great ideas for the project.”

Dr. Skor bowed. “I am a marine biologist,” he told the kids. “I am doing research nearby, and I heard about King Farhad’s wonderful aquarium.”

“Would you like to meet the king?” Sammi asked.

“You
know
him?” Dr. Skor asked, looking surprised.

“He’s my father!” Sammi answered.

Suddenly they heard the sound of distant chimes.

“Come on!” Sammi said to his friends. “That’s Fin ringing the dinner bell!”

The kids spent the next couple of days exploring Nere.

Sammi showed the kids a small park where parrots lived in the trees. He took them to a glass-blowing factory, where they watched a man blow red molten glass into delicate animals. They stopped at a food stall and ate hot meat sandwiches and drank lemon-flavored drinks.

Once or twice, Dink noticed the man he’d seen peeking out of his bedroom in the castle. Dink asked Sammi about the
man, but Sammi just shrugged.

“He must be a friend of my father” was all Sammi would say.

On the third day of their visit, the kids were relaxing on a small beach. They sat in the sand and took off their sandals. The sun, puffy clouds, and boats made a beautiful picture.

Out in the harbor, the yellow yacht sat peacefully in the turquoise water. Every now and then, men wearing scuba gear would either jump off the
boat or climb aboard. They carried mesh bags and wore long black flippers on their feet.

The kids recognized Dr. Skor as he walked about on the deck.

“Maybe they’re looking at the fish,” Josh suggested.

“Dr. Skor told my father he’s studying coral,” Sammi said. “But there’s a lot more coral outside the harbor,” he said.

“His boat looks so cool. I wish we could go aboard,” Ruth Rose said
as she put her feet in the water.

“My father will arrange it,” Sammi said.

Josh looked at him. “He can do that?”

Sammi grinned. “He
is
the king, Josh.”

Just then Fin showed up with a few other servants, each carrying a large basket.

A few minutes later, they had set up a table and loaded it with food.

“Lunch is served!” Fin announced in Costran, and Sammi translated.

The kids loaded up plates and sat in folding chairs. The servants handed them cold drinks and cloth napkins.

“Oh my gosh, I just remembered!” Ruth Rose cried. “Today is your birthday, Sammi! Happy birthday!”

Sammi blushed. “My parents are giving me a party tonight,” he said.

“Cool,” Josh said. “Will there be a cake?”

Before Sammi could answer, they
heard a shrieking whistle. The noise was coming from town.

“What is that?” Dink asked Sammi.

“It’s an alarm!” Sammi said. He stood up and looked toward town. “It sounds like it’s coming from the aquarium site.”

Fin leaned over and spoke urgently to Sammi in their language.

“Fin says he thinks it’s the bank!” Sammi said. “Come on!”

The kids left their plates on their seats and raced toward the bank. Fin ran beside Sammi.

When they reached the bank, the door opened and a man burst outside.

“That’s Mr. Lees Baz, the manager of the bank,” Sammi said.

He ran over to Mr. Baz, who began speaking in rapid Costran. His eyes were bulging and he waved his hands in the air as he spoke.

Fin dug out a cell phone from inside his robe and dialed a number. People
came out of nearby shops to see what was the matter.

Sammi returned to the kids. His face was pale. “Mr. Baz said the bank vault has been broken into!”

“Did they take anything?” Ruth Rose asked.

Sammi gulped. “Yes, all my father’s gold is gone!”