Chapter 9

Chapter 9 The kids found themselves crammed in the boat's tiny bathroom. There was no room to sit or turn around. The kids just stood and stared at each other.

Suddenly, they heard heavy feet thunder down the cabin stairs. They held their breath. They heard a small thump, then a bigger one. Then the feet were walking again, this time going up the stairs. The small room got hot fast. Sweat ran into Dink's eyes. He could barely breathe. They waited, but heard no more noises. "I smell scrambled eggs!" Josh whispered into Dink's ear. Dink rolled his eyes. "Well, I do!" said Josh. Dink waited a few more minutes, then opened the door a crack. Cool air rushed into the bathroom. Dink quickly looked around the cabin. He could hear the men talking up above. He gently pulled the door shut. "They're up on deck," he said. "We can't stay in this bathroom. If one of them wants to use it, we're sunk!" "Why don't we just leave?" Josh asked. "How do we explain why we're hiding in their boat?" Ruth Rose said. "It's too late!"

Dink slipped out of the bathroom and saw a trapdoor in the floor. Kneeling, Dink pulled the trapdoor open. Josh and Ruth Rose tiptoed out of the bathroom. Suddenly the kids heard a roar. Then Dink felt the boat begin to move—backward! "They're taking the boat out!" he whispered. "Come on, down here!" The kids scampered down into the boat's hold. Dink lowered the door over their heads. Except for a crack of light around the trapdoor, they were in darkness. "This place stinks like rotten fish!" Josh said. "Now what?" Ruth Rose said. "I don't know," Dink answered. He thought for a minute. "They must be going out to the dive site," he said. "We'll have to hide till they decide to go back to the dock." "But that could be all day!" Josh said. The kids squirmed around, trying to get comfortable. Dink put his eye up to the crack and saw the underside of the table. To the right, he could just make out the bottom stair leading up to the deck.

"Ouch!" Josh said suddenly. "I think I sat on an anchor!" "And I scraped my knee on a cinder block!" Ruth Rose said. Dink moved his hands around the sloping wooden floor. His fingers felt hard, scratchy surfaces. More cinder blocks, a bunch of them. Then he touched something squishy. "Guys, I found some life vests," Dink whispered. "Put 'em on!"

The kids struggled into the vests. Dink kept his eye on the crack. He wanted to know if Spike or Chip came down into the cabin. "Whose idea was it to get on this boat?" Josh said. "I feel like a prisoner!" "You wanted to go out on a dive," Dink said. "You got your wish!" "Yeah," Josh said. "But not trapped in some smelly dungeon!" Dink saw a movement through the crack. A pair of bare feet were backing down the stairs! "Shh!" he said. "They're coming down to the cabin!" They heard footsteps, then voices. Shapes moved back and forth across the trapdoor. "This place is a pigpen," one of the men said. Dink recognized Spike's voice. "Why bother to clean it?" Chip answered. He giggled. "It'll get real clean in a little while." Dink heard something scrape, then a thump right over his head. Through the crack, he saw skinny wooden legs. A stool or chair had been dragged up to the small table. "We got any juice?" Spike asked.

"I doubt it," Chip answered. "I think there's milk." "They're eating breakfast!" Josh hissed into Dink's ear. "I told you I smelled eggs!" Then somebody sat down at the table. Dink could see one person's leg from the knee down. The leg was hairy and tanned. Suddenly, Dink gasped. Just inches from his eye, he saw a tattoo. It was an eagle's head.