07 Fogbound

Chapter 07 Fogbound At the rocks, the sea gulls still screeched. Jack could barely see the steep path leading down into the fog. “ Go slowly, ” Jack whispered to Annie as they started down. “ Whoops! ” said Annie. She slipped and fell forward, bumping into Jack. “ My foot got caught in my stupid dress—” “ Shh! ” said Jack. He held on to Annie. They listened as pebbles and rocks rolled down the cliff.

Jack took a deep breath. “ We’ve got to watch out for Vikings, too, ” he whispered. They started down the steep path again. They went one step at a time. The sound of the waves against the rocks grew louder. Finally, they stepped down onto a flat strip of pebbles. “ Where are we?” whispered Annie. “ I don’t know, ” said Jack. “ Oh, look! ” said Annie. She pointed to the shoreline. Through the fog rose the serpent prows of the Viking ships! Jack and Annie crept closer to the ships. Their sails were down. Each ship had been tied to a tall jagged rock. They seemed deserted as they bobbed in the shallow waves.

Jack really wanted to check out the ships. But he was afraid of wasting time. “ We’d better find the tree house, ” he said to Annie. They crept away from the three Viking ships. Suddenly, they both froze. Through the mist, they saw a group of Viking warriors. The Vikings were looking at the top of the cliff. Their long yellow hair hung down from beneath their iron helmets. They carried round wooden shields and swords and axes. “ It looks like they’re planning to climb the cliff, ” whispered Annie. “ We need to hide until they go, ” whispered Jack. “ Then we can look for the tree house. ”

“ Let’s hide in a ship! ” said Annie. “ Good idea, ” said Jack. They crept back to where the ships were tied.

Jack was happy to see that the sides of the smallest ship were very low. They would easily be able to climb over them. “ You go first, ” said Annie. Jack waded through the shallow water. It was cold! He reached the ship and grabbed one side. He pushed himself up and onto the ship’s deck. The ship jerked forward. Jack looked at the shore. It was now thirty feet away. The ship’s anchoring rope was pulled tight. The serpent prow bobbed up and down with the waves. The fog and the movement of the ship made Jack feel as if he was in a dream. For a moment, he forgot to be scared of the Vikings.

“ This is so cool, ” he called. “ Come on, Annie! ” Annie started to wade out to the ship. Suddenly, she disappeared. “ Annie?” called Jack. Her head popped out of the water. She splashed with her arms. “ It—it’s deep! ” she gasped. “ My dress—too heavy! ” “ Use the rope! ” called Jack. “ Like when we climbed the stairs! ” Annie grabbed the rope that stretched from ship to shore. It held her weight as she began inching along it. “ Hold on tight! ” cried Jack. “ I—I am! ” gasped Annie. She kept going, hand over hand, along the rope, toward the ship.