The
Treasure of Squeaky Toy Island
Chapter 6
Squeaky
Toy Light loomed up over the horizon. Within minutes, they could see
the great bivalve lens spin above their heads. But there was no time
for sightseeing. Their actual objective was just south of the great
lighthouse.
A
pair of red lights caught their eyes. Speedy looked between them, and
then upward until he saw a green light. Checking his paw watch, he
said, “If we get in within the next fifteen minutes, we'll be
safe.”
Captain
Snoopy turned to Bowsun Frankie, and said, “Have ye got the thingy
that makes the noise?”
Frankie
held up his wooden whistle, and said, “Aye, Cap'n.”
“When
I hold up me paw, give the first blow. But softly.”
“Aye,
Cap'n.”
“We're
on final approach to the main ship channel”, Speedy said.
“Put
the helm midships and lash her down.”
“Aye,
Cap'n. Bear a paw, laddies and lassies!”
Speedy
looked forward, and said, “Half astern!”
“Half
astern!”, Coccolino replied.
The
engines wound down, and the wake died away.
Easy
noticed the sudden quiet, and said, “What's going on, Skipper?”
Ernie
pointed towards the shore, and said, “He's trying to slow them down
for the channel. He just cut his engine, and he's gonna reverse it to
bring her to a stop.”
Ernie
was right. Within seconds, the water started churning in the opposite
direction. Ernie kept an eye on the big ship, and said, “Watch that
heavin' line. We don't want too much slack.”
“Sure
thing Skipper.”
Speedy
watched the shoreline approaching, and said, “Dead Slow Ahead!”
“Dead
Slow Ahead”, Coccolino answered.
The
wake disappeared once again, and this time there was very little
churning as they moved forward. By now, the dark form of an open
railroad bascule bridge loomed up in front of them. Captain Snoopy
smiled, and held up his paw.
Frankie
inhaled, and softly blew one long blast with the wooden whistle. He
then blew a second long blast, a short one, and another long.
He
panted a few times, and said, “How was that, Cap'n.?”
“Fine,
lad, just fine. When we're closer, I want you to give a louder sound,
with the very same signal.”
“Aye,
Cap'n.”
Speedy
leaned over the bulwark, and said, “Give me one prolonged blast of
the whistle.”
The
blast of a steam horn filled the air. Speedy leaned over again, and
said, “Now a short blast.”
Coccolino obliged. A second later, the same signal was blasted out on
a loud air horn.
Captain Snoopy smiled, and said, “This is it, lads
and lassies!”
Speedy
looked up at the bridge, and said, “Get that helm amidships, and
meet her as we pass through the channel.”
“Aye,
sir”, Coccolino replied.
“And
keep her on dead slow ahead!”
“Yes,
sir.”
On
the platform of the bridge operators cabin, with fur nearly as red as
the lights on the bridge fenders, Walter was keeping an eye on the
vessels approaching. He didn't notice Frankie put the wooden whistle
back in his mouth. But he was sure he had just heard the whistle of a
distant train.
Not
daring to leave his post while a ship was passing beneath the bridge,
he called through the open door, “Millie, do you see any trains
coming?”
Millie
flipped the light switch on the model board, and said, “No circuits
are down.”
“I
thought I heard a train whistle for the crossing.”
“If
there was a train at the last crossing, we'd hear it for sure. It
must be too far away yet.”
Millie
then shut off the lights, and came out to join Walter. Walter
momentarily gazed up the tracks to where he thought the sound had
come from. He didn't see anything, but he was sure he had heard
something, not once, but twice. And the second time was definitely
louder than the first.
Noticing
Walter's concern, Millie said, “The board was clear.”
“Right,
but it was rainy tonight. Those rails could be covered with sand, and
we could lose the shunt. As soon as this ship clears, we need to drop
the bridge.”
Millie
nodded, then waved to Coccolino as the prow passed under the bridge.
At that moment, Captain Snoopy said, “Stand by, and when I give the
signal, give it all you got.”
Speedy
had moved forward by this time, and as they passed the operator's
cabin, he leaned down and said, “As soon as their stern clears the
bridge fender, head her straight into the main ship channel, and
bring her up to slow ahead.”
“Aye,
sir.”
Walter
and Millie watched and waved as the stern passed the platform, and
Frankie took a deep breath. As soon as their stern was clear, he blew
the whistle as hard as he could.”
“Oh
my dog!”, Millie shouted. You were right! “
Ernie
and Easy were standing on the bow of their longship, fighting back
drool. Their weapons were laid out on deck, and their sacks were
ready to be filled with squeaky plunder. Or so they thought.
Easy
watched the Rawhide
pass into the main ship channel, and he felt the towline pull taught.
Still drooling, he said, “Looks like smooth sailing now, Skipper.”
“Aye.
Little do they know.................”
Suddenly,
five short blast of an air horn ripped through the solace of the
night. Nervously, Easy said, “What's going on, skipper?”
Before
Ernie could answer, a huge sign near the bridge lit up “Caution!
Caution! Caution!”
The
horn sounded again, and again Easy said, “What's happening?”
This
time, their worst fears were confirmed. The message on the sign
changed to: “Caution! Bridge coming down!”
But
that wasn't the worst of it. On the other side of the bridge, Speedy
had just put the steam launch on Half Ahead. Ernie looked at the
bridge, watched the towline stretch out, and yelled, “Get the
hatchet! Now!”
But
the worst was yet to come. Suddenly, a bright light shone on them,
and a voice shouted, “This is the Coast Guard! Wienerking longship
throttle down and stand by to be boarded!”
Ernie
grabbed a battle axe, and struck a hard blow. The towline snapped
like a rubber band, flying away into the darkness. Ernie and Easy
were knocked to the deck.
It
was then that they heard a motor speeding up. It was followed
immediately by the blare of a siren.
