The maiden voyage of the Mary Belle 6/13

Half an hour later everything had been arranged. Fern climbed right to the top of the mainmast and stood up. She was holding on to a long rope which had been specially rigged and lead down to the deck, where a group of goblins were holding on to the end.

She wobbled for a moment while she opened her wings, then got her balance and jumped. Just as Jennifer Jane had hoped, the movement of the ship against the wind provided enough lift for her to soar up into the sky. The goblins on the deck payed out the rope to the very end, until at last she must have been flying at nearly twice the height of the mast.

All eyes were watching her, with the exception of the steersman who was trying to keep the brig sailing as smoothly as possible. A shout from the ’kite’ sent the skipper running to the binnacle.

Fern was pointing slightly astern and he took a rough bearing along the way she was pointing. He waved to show that he’d made a note of the direction and Fern let go of the rope gliding down to land on the deck just beside the wheel. Some of the crew had seen Fern fly before, when she had fallen from a masthead on her first voyage, but all were open mouthed in amazement and soon gathered round to congratulate her.

“I could just see a mountain on the horizon,” said Fern rather breathlessly, “I suppose there is a possibility that Barnacle Bill may be near there, but in any case we’d be able to check our position with the locals. Now if you don’t mind I’d like to go to my cabin for a good rest. It was quite a strain up there and my muscles aren’t used to flying in any case.”

As she went below, the brig turned and sailed along the bearing towards the mountain. Jennifer Jane woke up the next morning to find that they’d anchored during the night, just offshore from a tropical coastline. They had been very lucky with their guesswork. The paddle steamer could be seen high and dry above the high water line of the beach, while the mountain towered in the background above the trees. She rushed up on deck, only to discover that so far no one had seen Barnacle Bill.

“Would it be alright if I went ashore and tried to find someone who can tell us where we are?” asked Jennifer Jane. “I thought if I climbed to the top of the mountain I’d be able to see if there were any buildings in sight.”

The skipper looked at Fern who nodded. “Go down to the galley and get yourself some food and drink, it’s probably a lot further than it looks and you may need to eat something before you get back here.”

She went down to the galley and put a flask in one pocket and a packet of sandwiches in the other. Then she went ashore with the goblins that were going to check the paddle steamer for damage. She waved goodbye to Fern and set off towards the jungle.