Drowned Wednesday(66)

Arthur picked up a rat nose and stuck it over his own, tying the cord at the back of his head. It felt ridiculous, a feeling made even worse when he fastened the rat tail to the back of his trousers.

‘Marvellous!’ said the Doctor. ‘Say something.’

‘I feel stupid,’ grumbled Arthur. As far as he could tell he looked just the same and his voice sounded normal. But Scamandros clapped his hands and Suzy laughed.

‘I’ll try mine!’ she said.

Arthur slipped off his rat nose and undid the tail as Suzy put hers on. As she tied the cord at the back, she disappeared. Arthur blinked, and it took him a moment to think of looking down. There was a rat near his feet, looking up at him and waving a pink paw.

‘It works!’ exclaimed Arthur.

Suzy reappeared, the rat nose hanging around her neck like a strange necklace.

‘I could have done with one of these years ago,’ she said. ‘How long will it last?’

‘A few days,’ said Scamandros. ‘The Nothing in the Activated Ink will eventually eat through the paper and the wool. But it is a reliable, well-made charm, even if I say so myself. It might even last a little longer.’

Arthur looked at Suzy. Her eyes were dreamy, indicating some thought about an additional use for the rat disguise, beyond sneaking into Feverfew’s worldlet.

‘Pilchards,’ said the helmsrat. ‘Or sardines.’

Everyone looked at the crystal globe. It was suddenly full of flickering silver shapes, so many that Arthur had to stare and focus to work out that the Balaena had struck a huge shoal of fish.

‘We must be approaching Drowned Wednesday,’ said Longtayle ten minutes later, when there was no sign of any lessening of fish. ‘She concentrates the fish in her path, using her powers.’

He picked up the speaking tube.

‘All hands! Secure for ramming stations! Close all watertight doors! Stand by all pumps! Everyone strapped in back there?’ Longtayle called out.

‘Yes,’ said Arthur.

‘Indeed,’ said Scamandros.

‘Reckon so,’ said Suzy.

Longtayle did not leave his chair, but he leaned around to talk to the others.

‘Drowned Wednesday usually cruises near the surface, and according to our observations her mouth extends from four hundred fathoms above sea level to an estimated six hundred and fifty fathoms underneath. We have calculated that if we go in at about thirty fathoms below sea level, we should have a very good chance of finding a hole in the upper straining plates and should have no risk of being caught between her jaws. The plates are mostly holes, in fact, but we will have very little time to see one and steer for it, if we are not in the grip of too strong a current.’

‘We’re getting a current now,’ reported the helmsrat. ‘Speed in the water has increased to twenty-six knots.’

Longtayle turned back to concentrate on the controls.

‘What do we do if we don’t go through a hole?’ asked Suzy.

‘I think we get smashed to bits,’ said Arthur. ‘But like Longtayle said, it’s mostly holes. And the current must aim for the holes, or get directed through them. We’ll be all right.’

‘What happens if we don’t get smashed completely to bits, but just a bit smashed to bits?’ asked Suzy after a while. ‘I mean, so we’re still alive but drowning?’

‘Suzy, please don’t ask me these questions right now,’ said Arthur with as much restraint as he could manage.

The silver fish in the globe were rushing past at a faster and faster rate, and he could feel the Balaena rocking up and down and from side to side, as it was swept up by the inrush of water into Drowned Wednesday.

Suddenly, all the silver fish disappeared and the globe went dark.

‘We’re in her shadow!’

‘Emergency power!’ snapped Longtayle. ‘Snout-eye lights to maximum!’

Light glimmered in the crystal globe and grew brighter. The silver fish were no longer streaming past. They were going backwards, along with masses of seaweed and other objects that had to be salvage. Like the submersible, they were all being sucked into Drowned Wednesday’s maw.

Something hit the Balaena, the sound echoing through the hull, a deep, long bong! It was followed by a whole series of impacts that together made a noise like hail on a tin roof. The submersible rocked and rolled, the helmsrat and Longtayle both working the levers furiously to keep it stable.

Arthur saw the glint of something white up ahead.

‘The straining plate!’

Longtayle saw it too. He and the helmsrat redoubled their efforts, the submersible rolling over to thirty degrees and into a steep incline, then levelling off just as quickly. Arthur saw the solid white ahead of them replaced by a dark hole. The submersible headed straight for it, surrounded by silver fish and hundreds of pieces of flotsam and jetsam of many varying sizes.