4 Toothless to the Rescue

4. TOOTHLESS TO THE RESCUE Toothless had spent the last ten minutes muttering to himself at the top of the mast. At first he was so full of self-pity he had no time to worry about what was happening to his masters. 'NOBODY loves T-T-Toothless,' he said to himself. But then the noises from the Roman ship got louder, and the boys did not reappear, and he started to get worried. When he heard Hiccup's YELL for help the little dragon called off his strike. He zoomed off his perch and flew to the ship, and even from the height he was flying, his sharp little eyes immediately spotted that way down below on the deck there was a large Roman centurion who was holding Fishlegs by the leg. The centurion was about to execute Fishlegs with his sword. Toothless folded his wings back and went into a dive, just as he might do if he were hunting mackerel or herring. His target was the centurion's head, and by the time he reached it, he was going so fast he was a little dragon blur. He tore into the helmet, sending

feathers from the plume flying in all directions, and bit and scratched as hard as he could. The centurion let out a yell of surprise and rage. For a moment he was knocked off balance, but he recovered when he realised his attacker was only a very small dragon. Fishlegs swung desperately from side to side, trying to break free; but the centurion was made of tough stuff. He tightened his grip on Fishlegs's ankle and swung his sword around, trying to hit Toothless with it. So Hiccup grabbed a passing Slitherfang and shoved it up the centurion's tunic. The centurion let out a bellow and dropped Fishlegs. Wouldn't you? A Slitherfang in the knickers is no laughing matter. The centurion hopped from foot to foot, clutching his bottom and squealing like a pig as he tried to catch hold of the nibbling, wriggling, scratching Slitherfang in his underwear. 'Let's get out of here!' howled Hiccup, hauling Fishlegs to his feet. He also picked up a Roman helmet that was lying on the deck nearby. They were going to have some explaining to do to Gobber when they got back, and this might help.

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All around them there was chaos, with dragons attacking Romans and Romans attacking dragons and trying to put out the fires the dragons were making. Hearts racing as fast as rabbits, panting and stumbling, Hiccup and Fishlegs ran as fast as they could to the spot where they had boarded the ship. The rope was still in place, The Hopeful Puffin would be waiting down below on the other side… Fishlegs got to the edge first, and scrambled over. Hiccup was only a few steps away from him… when a hand grabbed the back of his tunic, ripping out his pocket. Hiccup's book, How to Speak Dragonese, fell on to the deck. Hiccup stopped to reach down and pick it up… …and came face to face with the glitteringly triumphant eyes of the Thin Prefect through the iron visor of his helmet. Hiccup's heart turned to ice. The Prefect was holding on to the other end of the book. 'AHA!' spat the Thin Prefect. They both pulled. 'Let go!' hissed the Thin Prefect. 'You can't win, you know. This is mine now…' Hiccup could have let go but this was his book after

all and despite his terror, some deep, indignant rage made him hang on strongly until… …something sharp and iron shot out from beneath the Thin Prefect's cloak and cut into the back of Hiccup's hand. Hiccup screamed and jumped backwards. The book split in two and before the Thin Prefect could pull himself together and catch hold of him again Hiccup scrambled away and over the edge of the ship. There wasn't even time to climb down the rope. Hiccup swung from it, and then let go, crashing on to the deck of The Hopeful Puffin some way below. Fishlegs cut the rope that tied them to the ship, and their little boat was pulled away so swiftly by the current that she went into one of her spins. 'Where's Toothless?' asked Hiccup. Toothless had been held up. His foot was caught in the centurion's chin-strap, and for a moment they were tied together – and Toothless had quite a bumpy ride because the centurion was jumping up and down like an octopus

with chicken pox, as he tried to get rid of the Slitherfang in his knickers. Toothless finally snapped the chin-strap with his hard little gums and to Hiccup's relief, as The Hopeful Puffin twirled around for the fifth time – looking for all the world as if she was dancing – Toothless came screeching up to the edge of the ship towards them at the speed of a flying arrow. 'Oh, thank Thor!' Hiccup exclaimed joyfully. But one minute Toothless was flying through the air like a stormy petrel in a hurry; the next a net weighted with stones appeared out of nowhere, wrapped itself round the little dragon in midair and brought him back down on to the deck of the Roman ship as if struck by a spear. 'TOOOOOOOOTHLESS!' cried Hiccup. Two figures appeared over the edge of the ship. One was the Thin Prefect holding half of the How to Speak Dragonese book. The other was a Roman soldier. In one hand he held a trident. In the other he held a net… …and within that net, struggling and biting and turning wild somersaults in his desperation to be free, was…