Hunt for the Panther 3 (9781101610923) (16 page)

“I’m coming,” she said simply.

Scarlet shook her head. If Uncle Daniel had wanted Josephine to broaden her horizons in the tropics, he definitely hadn’t had this in mind.

“All right,” Josephine said a few minutes later. “I’m ready.” Her hair was neatly braided and her boots were tightly laced. Boy clothes would have been better, but there was no time for that.

They tiptoed out the door and down the hall, stopping at the library so Scarlet could scribble a note to her father.

Danger at home,
she wrote.
Had to go. If not back in a few days, come find me.

She paused, remembering their conversation earlier that night. He’d be disappointed in her. Possibly very angry, too. But
maybe
he’d understand? She added,
P.S. I’m sorry.

Then she remembered the most important part.

P.P.S. Josephine came, too. I’m
really
sorry.

She slipped the note under his bedroom door and tiptoed down the stairs and out the front door, Josephine close behind.

The air was warm and filled with firefly flickers and the buzz of cicadas from the jungle nearby. Scarlet turned to Josephine. “One more chance to turn back.”

Josephine shook her head. “I’m coming.”

“Fine,” said Scarlet. “Can you run in that?” She pointed to Josephine’s skirt.

“Yes.” Josephine hiked it up, and they took off for the docks.

“Th-this is… yours?” Josphine whispered.

Scarlet stopped rowing and balanced the oars across the dinghy they’d “borrowed.” “Not mine, exactly. It belongs to the Lost Souls,” she said, watching the
Hop
bob slowly in the inky water. She reached out and gave it a quick pat.

Thank you,
she told it silently, then looked up at the stars overhead.
And thank you, Uncle Finn, for taking the ship without asking.
He’d be baffled when he found it missing the next day, but that was the least of her worries. “Come on,” she said to Josephine.

“But… but how?” Josephine asked, squinting up at the ship. “Do we have to climb?” Her voice trembled a bit.

“Yes,” said Scarlet. “But it’s not that hard. Watch.” She pulled out the grappling iron she’d also borrowed, then launched it into the air. It hooked onto the side rail, and Scarlet had to grin. After nearly a week of floundering at everything ladylike, she was back in her element.

She demonstrated how to climb aboard using the rope attached to the iron, then climbed down and watched as Josephine attempted it, shaking with every step.

Halfway up, her cousin paused. “Are you sure about this?” she called down, voice trembling.

“Don’t look down,” Scarlet commanded. “You’re doing well. Just a few more steps.”

“‘Just a few more steps,’” Josephine repeated to herself, and she started climbing again.

Scarlet had to hand it to her cousin—she had determination. If only Uncle Daniel could see her.

Once Josephine was safely on board, Scarlet scampered up after her.

Setting sail took five times longer than usual, since there was only one of her to raise the sails and weigh anchor. Josephine offered to help, but it took as long to explain what she needed to do as it did to do it herself. And there was no time to lose.

Once they were safely out of port, Scarlet stopped to catch her breath. She leaned against the wheel and closed her eyes for just a moment.

“I have a question,” Josephine said suddenly.

Scarlet shook herself awake and nodded. “All right.”

“Does your father know… about all this?” Josephine spread her arms wide.

“He does.” Scarlet considered telling her everything, even about her father’s mission to protect the island, but then she remembered Uncle Daniel’s devotion to the king. “The island is his home, too,” she said simply.

“And what about that boy at the plantation. Ben?” Josephine’s eyes narrowed. “You two… seemed to know each other.”

Scarlet nodded. “He was captain when I came aboard.”

“But… but he looked so… dignified,” Josephine said, mystified.

Scarlet snorted. “You should have seen him a few years back. His hair used to get so matted that we’d have to shave it all off. And once, an entire family of bugs started nesting in his ear.”

“No!” Josephine shrieked. “That’s disgusting!” She shuddered, then admitted, “I thought he might have been your boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend!” Scarlet exploded. “Not bloody likely!”

Josephine flinched.

“Sorry,” Scarlet said. “Ben was my captain and nothing more. I admired him, of course, but…” She felt her ears grow hot and looked away, out to sea. “Anyway, now he’s nothing.”

Josephine stayed quiet for a while, taking everything in. Eventually she said, “You know, I always knew there was more to you than met the eye, but I certainly didn’t expect
this
.”

Scarlet had to smile at that. “I guess I’ve thrown a lot at you today,” she said.

“Yes,” Josephine agreed.

They fell silent again as Scarlet navigated the ship through the black waves, and Josephine studied her every move.

“You’re not seasick?” Scarlet asked.

Josephine shook her head. “I don’t get seasick.”

“But what about on the trip from the Old World? When you arrived, Uncle Daniel said you’d been sick.”

Josephine sighed. “I was fine. My father just worries.”

Scarlet turned the wheel gently. “Because of your mother?”

Josephine nodded. “He means well. He’s just afraid I’ll get sick like she did. That’s why he brought me with him, actually. Back home, the plague is spreading so quickly.”

Scarlet shuddered. She knew that story well. “So that’s why he’s looking for a cure.”

Josephine nodded. “He thinks there must be some undiscovered plant in the jungle. Which might be true, but I’m not sure how he’s going to find it.”

Scarlet pictured a jungle overrun by Old Worlders searching for plant medicines, and shivered. Of course it was important for them to find a cure for this plague. But did they have to do it in the jungle? Hadn’t they done enough damage to the islands already?

“Did your father do the same after your mother died?” Josephine asked, pulling her back to the present.

“No,” she replied. “He left me with a governess and
went back to the King’s Men.” She was surprised to find that it still hurt when she said it out loud. Even now, after they’d been reunited and were supposed to be a family again.

“I suppose everyone deals with it in their own way,” Josephine said softly.

They sailed on in silence for a few more minutes, both girls staring into the darkness ahead. Eventually, they both agreed in unison, “They’re going to kill us.”

By the time they dropped anchor off the coast of Island X and began rowing to shore, the sky was just beginning to lighten around the edges. If they hurried, it would be midmorning when they reached the camp to alert the Lost Souls. Scarlet’s stomach growled, but she shushed it, for they had nothing to eat.

She looked across the rowboat at her cousin. “You must be starving,” she said.

Josephine shrugged and gave her a small smile. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll try to find us some fruit on the way,” Scarlet promised, then pulled off her boots and slipped into the shallows. She pushed the dinghy to shore, where Josephine could disembark without getting wet.

Josephine gave her a grateful look as she climbed out. “Thank you.”

Scarlet tucked her boots under her arm. “It’s that way.” She pointed into the jungle just beyond the beach. “We’ve got some climbing ahead of us, but my crew
hikes this way all the time, so there’s a decent path.”

“I still can’t get used to the fact that you have a
crew
,” Josephine marveled, staring up at the towering trees and tangled vines. Some monkeys swung, screeching, from a branch hanging out over the beach.

“I wouldn’t be much of a pirate without a crew,” said Scarlet. “You’ll meet them soon. And you’ll—” She stopped herself before she promised that Josephine would like them. Josephine was hardier than she looked, but the Lost Souls were loud and dirty and full of curse words. Who knew how she’d react to them? “Well, anyway, we should get going.”

Josephine looked down at her feet. “You’re not going to wear your boots?”

Scarlet made a face. “I despise boots. Barefoot is the only way to go. Look.” She lifted up her foot so Josephine could see the sole. “See how tough it is? I barely feel anything underfoot.”

Josephine nodded but didn’t look convinced.

“Come on.” Scarlet turned and led her cousin into the jungle. She rolled her sleeves up past her elbows and took off her cap. It felt good to be home. Well, almost home. She picked up the pace.

They wove their way through the jungle, past the giant tree trunks Scarlet now knew like old friends. Josephine kept up surprisingly well. Her pink dress was streaked with dirt, but she didn’t bother to try to clean it. She was breathing heavily but didn’t complain about the pace. When a monkey swooped down and pulled one of her curls, she shrieked.

“You!” Scarlet shook her finger at the troublemaker, who swung back up onto a branch above their heads, screaming with laughter. “I remember you. You’re the one who got attacked by parrots last month for trying to steal their eggs.”

The monkey chattered and waved her arms.

“Well, I’m glad to see that hasn’t slowed you down,” Scarlet said. “But what the flotsam happened to your hair? It looks like someone… cut it?”

The monkey tossed her hair, then screeched and bounded off into the jungle.

“Sorry.” Scarlet turned to Josephine, whose mouth had fallen open. “Monkeys can be little terrors sometimes.”

“And you
talk
to them?” Josephine asked, bewildered.

“Sometimes,” said Scarlet. “But they rarely listen. Come on, let’s keep going.”

About halfway up the mountain, she spotted two big orange star fruit hanging from a branch several feet above her head. Her stomach grumbled again, and she agreed with it. It would be jolly if she and Josephine could have a star fruit each. But the branch was too high to reach and too thin to hold her if she climbed the tree. She began to search for pebbles to lob at the fruit.

Josephine watched her for a moment, then turned and stepped off the path into the underbrush. She returned moments later with some thin pieces of vine. Without a word, she settled down on the path and started weaving them together.

Scarlet paused with a rock in hand. “Look, um, Josephine,” she began, “we’re in a bit of a hurry here.
This probably isn’t the best time for arts and crafts.”

Josephine nodded. “It’ll only take a few minutes.”

Scarlet bit her tongue to stop herself from arguing. Josephine did deserve a bit of a rest after all Scarlet had put her through. But still, weaving vines in the middle of a journey was pretty…

“There!” Josephine held up her creation.

Scarlet looked, blinked, and looked again. It was a small basket, just the right size for star fruit.

“Now all we have to do is find a long stick… like this one.” Josephine grabbed one lying on the ground nearby. “Then we can hook the basket onto the end. And look!”

Scarlet took the stick and lifted it up so that the basket was directly under the star fruit. Then she gave the fruit a little nudge, and it fell neatly into the basket.

She made a mental note to stop judging Old World education so harshly.

“Well, Josephine,” she said as they walked on, nibbling on their breakfast, “that was impressive. I doubt even an Islander could have done better.”

Josephine blushed and shook her head. “Oh, that’s not true,” she said. Then she paused. “But Scarlet…”

“Hmm.” Scarlet licked a stream of juice off her forearm.

“Maybe… maybe now that we’re here, you could call me Jo,” Josephine suggested. “I’ve always liked that better.”

“Jo.” Scarlet smiled. “I like it better, too.”