5 The Spell is Broken

5. THE SPELL IS BROKEN Jim Lad sat bolt upright. Bones jumped up and licked his face, his tail wagging furiously. Jim turned around, pulled Matilda up off the sand, and hugged her so hard she thought she'd burst. "MATILDA!" said Jim. "I knew ye'd come!" "What happened?" asked Matilda. "Why did none of you move?" "I couldn't," said Jim. "My folks had gone in there and didn't return. So I

followed 'em. Everythin' went hazy, and I couldn't stop me'self! Just kept on walkin' against me wishes. Then, when I saw that treasure, I froze. Stuck still. Couldn't move a muscle. There's a curse, f'sure... "Yer a good dog, Bones!" Jim ruffled Bones's head. "If we was all bewitched by that gold, how come you were all right? And Bones too?" "I don't know," said Matilda. "Maybe it's because you're a pirate and I'm not. And Bones is a dog. Or something."

Jim looked back at the cave and stood up. "We gots to go back for my folks!" "But you can't go back, Jim," said Matilda. "Wouldn't you fall under the spell again? I'd never be able to move them on my own. Bones and I could barely drag you. I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind me saying that he looks a lot heavier than you." "Then I'll head to the Blackhole and get some ropes," said Jim, pointing toward the Jolley-

Rogers' ship, shrouded in sea spray out in the bay. "With a block and tackle, we could yank 'em all out at once. You could go in and lash 'em up, then we could pull 'em out together from the beach!"

"I suppose that might work," said Matilda. "Or we could go up to that house and ask if we could use their phone...." Matilda pointed to an old ramshackle house that she hadn't noticed before. It was perched precariously on the cliff, directly above the cave. But Jim had already gone, running across the beach. Matilda watched him pick up a surfboard and paddle, and then he was off over the waves, standing on his board, paddling toward the Blackhole. Matilda shrugged and looked at Bones. "Maybe we should go and rescue Nugget...." Feeling a little more brave, Matilda walked back into the cave, Bones close

behind her. The rest of Jim's family were just as they'd left them. "Same again?" Matilda said to Bones. But as she went to put her arms around Nugget, she heard footsteps. Matilda squinted through the flickering light, beyond the treasure, and saw stone steps leading up into the darkness. She could just make out three pairs of feet hopping from one step to another. Matilda looked back toward the entrance of the cave, but there was no time to get out. She would surely be spotted. Bones jumped behind a rock, and Matilda followed him. Crouching in the darkness, they heard voices getting closer.