Circle Sea 1: The Pirate Maze

Chapter Nine: Mysterious Mike

The boy was thin and some of the clothes that he was wearing were far too large for him. They hung on his body like the peeling skin of a lizard. His face was dark and his black wiry hair was tangled into loose clumps. His jacket and trousers had been patched together many times and various pockets seemed to have been added, creating the impression that he was a walking storeroom. Many of his pockets were filled with interesting items ranging from broken pencils to multi-coloured shells.

He held an old but rather smart black leather bag in his arms. It had seen better days but had a brass handle and a padlock on its catch.

Jim and Polly looked at the boy - and he looked back at them. It was obvious that he had come in on a ship and his somewhat bedraggled appearance marked him out as being part of the crew from the Nag’s Head.

They rarely had a chance to meet children their own age, but this boy was a similar height and couldn’t have been much older or younger. It was difficult to tell for sure but this was definitely a good opportunity to make a new friend.

Polly stuck her hand out in front of her and offered the stranger a smile.

‘Hi,’ she said warmly. ‘I’m Polly. This is Jim. We live near here.’

The boy didn’t respond immediately and seemed to be genuinely nervous about saying anything at all. He looked at Polly’s hand as if it might bite and then dropped the bag so he could take it, his face breaking out into a broad smile.

‘Mike,’ he flustered. ‘Or Michael... My name?’

Jim laughed and gave the stranger a handshake himself.

‘Hello Michael My Name. Welcome to our village. It’s good to meet you.’

Mike smiled again and they found themselves warming to him. He seemed a bit shy but had a natural charm that was instantly appealing.

‘It’s good to be here,’ he said as Jim pumped his hand up and down. ‘I... erm... came in on the Nag’s Head. We... we’re going to stay the night here... I think...’

‘That’s great!’ exclaimed Polly. ‘We could show you around.’

‘I don’t know...’ murmured the newcomer. ‘The Captain doesn’t exactly like us to wander off on our own - and there’s a lot of work to do.’

Polly nodded as she continued to look him up and down. His body was thin but athletic under the ragged covering of his patched up clothes.

‘Your bag,’ said Jim suddenly.

‘What?’

‘Your bag,’ he said again pointing.

Mike looked down at the dark leather bag.

‘Oh... yes,’ he muttered and he picked it up, holding it firmly in both hands. ‘It’s the Captain’s. They forgot it, so I was sent to drop it off.’

Polly smiled.

‘Well, perhaps we could walk back with you once you’ve done that?’

‘Okay,’ Mike said happily and he nodded to them before stepping over the threshold into the inn.

They didn’t have too long to wait before Mike emerged again from the doorway. He looked relieved to have completed his task and smiled with a broad grin when he found them still there waiting for him.

‘Everything okay?’ Polly asked him.

‘Oh, yes,’ Mike replied happily. ‘It was just something that the Captain needed.’

‘Are you a cabin boy?’ Jim asked as they set off along the road.

‘Aye, er, yes,’ said the young sailor. ‘I’ve only been with them a couple of weeks. I’m beginning to learn, but it’s hard work.’

‘Where are you from?’ inquired Polly. ‘I don’t recognise the way you speak.’

Mike laughed.

‘I don’t really know, I’m afraid.’

‘You don’t know?’

‘No,’ he said as he shook his head. ‘I was washed up in a lifeboat when I was younger. Some fishermen found me and I lived with them until I was old enough to...’

He shrugged and a brief shadow of sadness passed over his face.

He had spoken simply but it was obvious that his life couldn’t have been easy. Jim wondered what it had been like for Mike to grow up with the fishermen, particularly if they were just waiting for him to be old enough to pass on to a ship like the Nag’s Head. He wondered what sort of price they had been given for the boy’s services.

‘Do you remember anything at all?’ he asked.

‘Only little bits,’ Mike replied. ‘I remember tall buildings and a big white boat, a few faces and some toys... Not much more than that I’m afraid.’

Polly and Jim nodded. People were washed ashore from time to time and they often told wild stories about distant lands. They would have loved to hear more from Mike but it didn’t sound as if he had a lot to say about his original home.

‘What about the fishermen?’ Polly asked. What was it like with them? Where were you?’

‘It was an island out towards the edge,’ he said as he pictured it in his mind. ‘Just a jumble of rocks really, but there was a small bay with a beach and some stone houses. I had to clean and gut the fish.’

‘Smelly!’

‘No, it was fine really,’ he said as he shook his head vigorously. ‘You kind of get used to it.’

They were soon back at the harbour wall and Mike climbed back on board the Nag’s Head. He waved to them as he stood on the gang plank and they turned to walk away.

Jim thought about what they had heard.

‘Hey!’ he said suddenly. ‘That doesn’t add up.’

‘Go on...’ Polly said encouragingly.

‘Mike said they picked him up a few weeks ago out on the edge, but the Captain said they had been sailing from Port Elizabeth to the Northern Isles past Eagle Rock. That would have taken them towards the central storms...’

‘You noticed that did you?’ said Polly nodding.

‘So they were lying!’

‘It would appear so, yes.’

‘Interesting... What are we going to? Should we tell anyone?’

Polly shook her head.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Not yet anyway... I think we should just keep our eyes open for the moment.’

‘Odd Eric said something big was coming. Could this be it?’

‘Maybe,’ she replied cautiously. ‘I certainly can’t see how this afternoon could get any more interesting!’

It was at that very moment that the harbour bell rang once again. Another ship was sailing into port...