The Knight

I was looking down at the captain. A jokester whitecap had just washed his head. “You wouldn’t do this if you were me, Pouk? I’m helping him out. He was knocked cold, and the water will bring him back and make him feel better.”

“I got his knife, Sir Able. Mate’s, I mean. Had it in his belt, he did. Likely you didn’t notice, sir.”

“Sure I did.” I took the knife and glanced at it. “Give it back to him. It’s his.” Pouk looked dubious. “Into th’ drink might be better, sir. He’s havin’ trouble gettin’ his breath, sir, only it won’t last.”

“He didn’t try to stab me with it,” I told Pouk, “so I’ll let him keep it.”

“Put it in your back, sir, like as not.”

Kerl gasped, “N-No.”

“We’ve got his word, Pouk.” I took another look at the captain, who had started waving his arms and sputtering. A high-speed roll cracked his head against the side. “His word is good enough for us.”

I looked around at the mate. “Megister Kerl.”

Still gasping, Kerl contrived to say, “Aye, sir?”

“My baggage is out there where Pouk unloaded it. The boatman’s there, too, waiting for his money. Pay him, and help Pouk carry it in here.”

“Sir—aye aye, sir.”

Pouk was already out the cabin door. Kerl struggled to his feet and followed him.

When it had shut behind them, I pulled in the captain. “Get up,” I told him. “I might have to hit you again.”

He tried and fell down. I picked him up and plumped him down on the table. “Can you talk?”

“I’m all right. Just dizzy. It’ll pass off.”

“We’d better settle this before those two come back,” I told him. “I’m going to sleep in here, alone, until we get to Duke Marder’s city.”

He muttered, “Aye, sir.”

“That’s another thing. Don’t say sir to me. I’ve let Pouk do it, and just now your mate did it too. But you’re going to say yes, Sir Able. Every now and then you’d better say yes, Sir Able of the High Heart. When you do it, I’m going to listen really hard to the last two words.” He did not answer, so I said, “Make it plain you understand me, or you’re going out that window again.”

“Aye aye, Sir Able of the High Heart.” The captain straightened up. “I understand you perfectly, Sir Able of the High Heart.”

“Swell. I’ll pay you three ceptres for this room when we get to Forcetti. That’s if I get the best food you’ve got, and you and your men treat me the way a knight ought to be treated. Make it clear you understand all that, too.”

“Aye, Sir Able of the High Heart.” Still shaky, he got up, holding on to the little table with both hands. It was screwed to the floor, like just about everything else. “I understand you perfectly, Sir Able of the High Heart.”

“If the food’s not good, or you and your crew call me names behind my back, I’m going to start knocking money off those three ceptres. I’ll decide how much, and—”

There was a tap on the door.

“Just a minute!”

I turned back to the captain. “Do you understand what I’ve been telling you? About my deductions? Make it clear.”

“I do, Sir Able of the High Heart. You can count on me, Sir Able.”

“We’ll see.” I was feeling sicker than ever and felt like I was sure to chuck. “I’m going to move you out of here right now. Get all your stuff together—that means your clothes and personal things. Leave those blankets. Once you’re out, there won’t be anything to stop you from getting your crew together and giving out every kind of knife and stick you can find.”

He looked scared, and I was glad to see it.

“Only remember this. It won’t be enough to tell them to jump me. You’ll have to get out in front.” I opened the door. “Now beat it.”

When Pouk and Kerl had brought my baggage, I chased them out too, pushing Pouk—he wanted to talk—right out the door and sliding the square iron bolt into the socket. After that I was sick out the window, but when it was over and I had cleaned up, I felt better than I had since I got into the big rowboat that had ferried us out to the Western Trader.

Before I go on, I ought to tell you a lot about boats and ships (which are different from boats, although I did not understand that then) and the coasting trade, and the high-sea trade. But the truth is that I do not know a lot about those things. The Western Trader was a big ship to them; only the biggest had three masts. In the summer it went west, just like its name said, and traded among the islands there. But in winter it just traded along the coast of Celidon, so it could duck into a port whenever the weather got too bad, and it tried to trade south.

The Osterlings were to our east, but they followed the coast south, west, and north, murdering and stealing. Duke Indign had tried to stop them, but they had killed him, and pulled down his castle. With him gone, they had looted and burned most of Irringsmouth.

Chapter 17. At Anchor