The Stolen Lake Read Online Free Page A

which plaice dew yew obteeyne yewer teeaye?"
    Mr. Holystone threw up his eyes to heaven.
    At this moment a sudden shudder through the ship indicated that the
Thrush
had hove to; they heard the creak of windlasses and the thud of feet on deck as the sails were lowered.
    "Oh, please lemme go up on deck, Mr. Holy!" begged Dido. "I'll practice ever so hard tonight, cut my throat and swelp me, so I will!"
    Mr. Holystone shrugged and let her go. To his mind, the chances of Dido's acquiring the manners of a polite young lady seemed about as probable as a mouse's nest in a cat's ear. Besides, he thought, how do we know what is considered polite behavior in Bath Regis?
    Up on deck, Dido glanced eagerly about her.
    The Cumbrian coast was visible as a line of black cliffs, about two miles to westward of the
Thrush.
Those cliffs must be tarnal high, Dido thought, to be so plain from here. But at one point they dropped to a V. And a pinnace, which had put out from the
Thrush,
was steering for this cleft.
    Beyond the cliffs, and a good deal farther inland, Dido thought, a line of mountains could be seen—a cluster of peaks, very high and spiky, like the teeth of some great trap. Wonder if Bath Regis is up in them mountains? If so, it's going to be a scrabblish climb getting up there. Oh, scrape it! Dido sighed to herself; don't I just wish it was the Kentish flats, and that there port was Gravesend!
    A considerable bustle was going on about the decks and rigging, as the sailors spread sails over the yards to act as awnings, bundled other sails tidily into canvas cases, coiled up the shrouds, and generally prepared the ship for a spell of inactivity. Dido, on the foredeck, had to duck and dodge several times, as men dashed past her or ropes whistled over her head.
    All of a sudden she heard an angry yell and the outraged squall of a cat. Spinning round, she was just in time to see the sailor known as Silver Taffy grab hold of El Dorado, who had been perched on one of the main-deck eighteen-pounders, minding her own business. Twirling the cat by her long tail, Taffy tossed her over the side. Not, however, before Dora had avenged herself by slashing with all her claws at Taffy's face. She whirled through the air, turning over a dozen times, and would certainly have fallen prey to the sharks had she not struck the anchor cable. With despairing strength the poor animal managed to twine her long, sinuous tail several times round the cable, and so dangled there, swinging and wailing, as she scrabbled frenziedly to grasp the rope with her paws.
    "Hang on, Dora—I'll get you!" shouted Dido, who was not far off. She flung herself over the rail and slid down the anchor cable. Grabbing El Dorado round the chest, she hugged the cat against her and began to work her way upward again—no easy matter, as the frantic Dora bit, struggled, squalled, squirmed, and did all in her power to hinder the rescue. Luckily, a couple of midshipmen had witnessed the incident and leaned over to take the cat from Dido; Dora was a general favorite with all the crew except Silver Taffy because of her prowess as a mouser.
    "Thankee, Mr. Multiple," panted Dido, scrambling back over the rail. "Dang it, ain't she a Tartar, though! Reckon my face looks like Blackheath Pond after a week's skating!" and she wiped the blood from her eyes.
    "It just about does, Miss Dido," said the red-haired Mr. Multiple with a grin. "You'd best take puss below and get Mr. Holystone to bathe those scritches. That was a right nimble job you did there, miss—anyone'd think you'd spent your life at sea."
    "Well, I justabout have," said Dido. "Here, Dora, you'd best come along of me. Seems you ain't welcome on deck."
    With a darkling glance at Silver Taffy she picked up El Dorado—who had resumed her usual calm and was haughtily putting her ruffled copper fur to rights—and carried the cat below.
    "What in the world have you been at, child?" exclaimed Mr. Holystone. "Captain Hughes will hardly