Jennifer Jane and the fireworks 1/3

November the fifth wasn't too far away and although Jennifer Jane had been watching most carefully, it didn't look as though her Father had brought any fireworks home. That night when he came home empty handed yet again, she couldn't stand the suspense any longer.

"Are we going to have any fireworks on Guy Fawke's day this year?" she asked.

"Why no, I’m afraid not," replied dad, "I'm very sorry but our summer holiday and your canoe cost rather lot of money and we have to economise."

"If I spent my pocket money on fireworks, we could have a bonfire in the garden, couldn't we?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes of course" laughed dad, but I'm afraid you won't get very many fireworks with your savings!"

Jennifer Jane went down to the shops, determined to get as many fireworks as she could. But they really did cost far more money than she had in her purse. She finished up spending every penny she had on sparklers, you could get quite a lot in a packet and she bought three packets.

That night she was allowed to stay up a bit later than usual so that she could see the end of a play on television. It was a story about the sea and during the course of the play there was a shipwreck. The ship on the rocks burnt a lot of flares and sent up signal rockets, so that the people on shore would know that they were in trouble. Then the hero came out in a lifeboat and rescued everyone just before the ship sank. It was really quite exciting.

Jennifer Jane went off to bed and lay there thinking. 'I wonder if Barnacle Bill has any rockets and flares to use as distress signals?' With this thought in her head she fell asleep.

The next morning dawned sunny and warm, not at all like the usual November weather. Jennifer Jane asked her mother if she could take a picnic lunch and go canoeing on the stream in the wood. She was soon wheeling her canoe into the wood on a small trolley that dad had made. It could be folded up and put inside the hull when it wasn't being used.
When she arrived at the pool, the giant reminded her to wish for the place she wanted to visit as soon as she entered the wishing fog.

'Drawrof' was soon launched and the giant kindly stopped crying for a moment, so as not to sink her by accident as she passed him. Jennifer Jane paddled off downstream and wished herself to Attersea Island as soon as she was in the fog. She slowly paddled on and then glided out into the sunshine again.

What a difference in the view! Instead of the woods and hills of her own home, she was now in the flat marshy ground of the East Coast and just across the saltings in front of her she could see the trees and sea wall of Attersea Island.

Drawrof moved out over the calm water towards the island, a little chuckling noise coming from her bow as it cut through the water. A line of ripples spread from either side, leaving a ‘V’ shaped wake on the water.

When she was roughly half way across, she heard the cry of the bittern, just as she had during the summer holiday. 'I wonder if that really is a bittern, or if Barnacle Bill is blowing his foghorn?' she thought.

Then, coming from a clump of trees on the island, she saw a little puff of steam and the foghorn noise was repeated. That must be where Barnacle Bill lived and she altered the course of her canoe slightly and headed in towards the trees. When she was close enough, she could see a little harbour beyond the trees, very similar to the one she had visited previously on Gull Island.

As she paddled slowly into the harbour, the trees and bushes closed the gap behind her and Barnacle Bill ran down the beach to meet her.

"There aren't many boats on the water at this time of the year," he said "and as soon as I identified you from the crows nest, I came down and blew the foghorn to let you know where I live."

"Crows nest?" asked Jennifer Jane looking rather puzzled.

"Yes, my look-out post up there." Barnacle Bill pointed to a tree, where a rope ladder led up to a small platform in the upper branches.

"When the weather is clear, I can signal to the goblin boatyard," he said, "or at night time I can use a lamp, but they get a bit cross if I get them out of their beds, so I only use the lamp in an emergency."

"Does the boatyard keep a stock of flares and rockets?" asked Jennifer Jane excitedly.

Barnacle Bill replied that they did and was very interested to hear that she wanted to buy some to use for fireworks.

"I owe you a favour in return for the help you gave me in salvaging my steamer," said the goblin. "You just paddle back home and leave the rest to me."