6 A Pup in Peril

Chapter 6 A Pup in Peril Sofia waved her arms and jumped up and down, trying to scare the seals into swimming the other way. But they only swam closer, as if they were curious about the silly girl dancing on their rocks. "Wait, I've got an idea!" Max quickly climbed back on board Wind Rider and slid belowdecks. He reappeared a moment later, holding the kite. "It distracted the seals before," he called over the railing. "Let's see if it works again!" He ran toward the stern of the boat and pulled at the string of the kite,

making it swoop up and down, like it was dancing in the wind, high above the seal herd. "Hey, seals!" he called. "Check this out!" Sofia held her breath and watched. One by one, the seals stopped. They turned their sleek heads away from the oil spill, toward the bobbing kite. And they began to swim. "Yes!" she cheered. "Keep going!" But Wind Rider was still tied to Bonnie, so they weren't far enough from the spill. "We have to set sail," Max called. "We have to get farther away. Untie the rope. Hurry!" Maisie glanced sadly at the rope that connected Bonnie to Wind Rider.

"We'll come back for your boat," Sofia said softly. "I promise." Maisie set her jaw and nodded. Then she quickly untied the rope. When the girls were back on Wind Rider, the boat seemed to know what to do. Slowly, it raised its anchor and drifted away from the oil spill. Max tied the kite to the rail so that it flew above the seals. "They're all following us," said Sofia, breathing a sigh of relief. "Wait, all except one." One small, dark head turned away from the others and headed back toward the rocks. "It's the baby!" she realized with horror. "Where is it going?" Her eyes tracked the path of the pup, straight back to the rocks. There, beside the wrecked Bonnie, a large seal struggled to climb out of the water. Even from afar, Sofia could see dark oil streaked across the seal's back. Her stomach dropped. "The pup is swimming back to its ma!" Maisie cried.

"And she's got oil on her!" Sofia shouted. "Quick! We have to stop the pup from going in the oil, too!" She put a foot on the rail, as if she were about to jump overboard. Max grabbed Sofia's hand. "You can't swim to them," he said. "You'll freeze!" Sofia's eyes widened. "We have wet suits," she remembered. "And the kayak—seals like kayaks. Maisie said so!" Maisie bobbed her head in agreement. "Yes," she said. "The selkie might follow the kayak!" At those words, Sofia took off running toward the hatch, with Max close behind. By the time they had pulled on their wet suits, Maisie had inflated the orange kayak using a battery-powered pump. Then she helped them lower it overboard. "Let me sit in back," said Max. "I'll steer, and you can sit up front and talk to the seal pup." "Be careful and don't get too close," Maisie warned. "The seals are wild, and that pup's ma won't like you going near her baby." Max and Sofia began paddling. But the waves were

so strong! Max struggled with each stroke. He switched sides, paddling first on the left and then on the right, trying to keep the kayak on course. "Do you see the pup?" he called to Sofia. She took another stroke and searched the waves. The seal pup's dark head popped out of the water. "There!" she cried, pointing at the spot, a few yards away. As the pup swiveled its head to look at them, the mother barked a warning from the rocks. It responded with a cry of its own. "Mah, mah!" The sound nearly broke Sofia's heart. "What now?" Max whispered. Sofia splashed the water playfully with her paddle until the pup turned again. Then she twirled the end of the paddle, creating a kaleidoscope of orange. The seal swam closer, then closer still, until Sofia could see its sweet face and shiny

black eyes. "It's working!" Max whispered. "Sofia, you're a seal whisperer!" Sofia could barely breathe as the pup swam a full circle around the kayak. As it passed, it lifted its muzzle and sniffed at them, as if to say hello. Sofia's heart leaped. "Hello, my sweet selkie," she cooed, using Maisie's word for seal. "Hello, little one," Max whispered from behind. Then something caught his eye. Maisie was waving from Wind Rider and pointing back toward the cliffs where the puffins nested. "She's showing us where the other seals went," said Max. "Can you make the pup follow us, Sofia?" Sofia met Max's eyes, swallowed hard, and then nodded. She had to try! As Max set his course and began paddling, Sofia kept watch to make sure the seal pup was following. Whenever it seemed distracted, she twirled her paddle and called gently to it. Slowly, stroke by stroke, they crossed the choppy sea, with the seal pup close behind. When they finally reached the rocks where the other seals were sunning, Max slowed the kayak to a crawl. "Time to join your family," he called to the seal pup. "Go on now." The pup waited near the kayak, as if wondering