When Tortoise came to he was in darkness. “Hello?”

“Tortoise?”

“Gecko?”

Tortoise could make out the dim shape of his friend lying prone opposite, arms and legs bound. He tried moving his own arms, and winced as the rope bit into his bruises. He looked around. They were in a small wooden room filled with barrels and sacks and rope. One wall was taken up entirely with the bodies of birds, from tiny yellow finches to fat little penguins. Largest of all, an albatross, hanging from his feet with his beak tied shut. They were all dead. The room rolled back and forth, rhythmically, as if they were inside a floating barrel.

“I thought you said you had a lot of experience with dogs?” Tortoise said.

“I do. Just not very good ones,” Gecko said. He suddenly jerked his head, and Tortoise heard a crunching noise. He saw his jaw moving.

“What are you doing?” Tortoise asked.

“Eating a cockroach.”

“Can you please focus on the problem? We’re trapped on a ship.”

“I know,” Gecko said, swallowing. Tortoise could hear the excitement in his voice. “We’re on a ship.”

Above them: someone barking an order, the sound of paws. A moment later, a hole in the ceiling opened up, and a couple of large, tattooed dogs stripped to the waist clambered down the ladder. They seized the two of them and dragged them out into a larger room, then up again onto the deck of the ship, depositing them before their leader. The deck stank of guts and the sea. Tortoise stared up into the billowing white sails, and wondered if they were about to die.

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The dog, who was dressed like the one who had captured them, peered down at them. “Well, well, well,” the dog said. “What have we here?”

“Supper and boots, Cap’n,” one of his men said, giving Gecko a nudge with his foot. “Supper and boots.”

“That shell sure would make some good hooks, Cap’n,” another one added. “Buttons, too.”

The captain looked thoughtful.

“Enough,” a new voice said. “These two belong to science.”

“Yes, sir,” the captain said, turning quickly. “The boys are just having a bit of fun. No one’s about to eat any specimens, not on the Beagle.” His companion was a young, well-dressed dog with silky white hair and pointy ears.

“A man of science!” Gecko said from the deck. “At last.”

The newcomer looked startled. “You speak English.”

“Of course,” Gecko said. “These rudimentary clothes are a mere disguise to lull the unwary into a false sense of superiority.”

“Untie them,” the white dog commanded.

“Sir—they’re savages,” the captain said. “You can’t believe anything they say. There’s no telling what they’ll—”

“Their feet then. Leave their hands bound if you wish.”

The captain nodded and gestured to his men, who pulled Tortoise and Gecko up and freed their legs. Tortoise gingerly stretched his ankles, and Gecko bounced on his padded toes.

“Sir, you’re a gentleman,” Gecko said. “Now, allow me to introduce—”

“Ship ahoy!” a lookout cried. “Ship at eight o’clock!” Everyone turned.

Someone shouted: “A black flag. She’s flying the Jolly Roger!”

Tortoise could tell immediately that that was bad.

##

Next episode: Polly Wants a Cracker