Amy then straggled in, looking sleepy and a little confused. Lisa Lee followed, looking at her watch. ElsBeth had a perfect sense of time and knew it was exactly five.
Frankie Sylvester skidded in next, dramatically spraying sand all over the girls as he pulled in beside Veronica.
“Sorry, guys,” he said to the boys on the yacht, ignoring Veronica’s howls at the flying dirt. “Mom wouldn’t let me leave until I finished my breakfast — sourdough pancakes with maple syrup and whipped cream. I ate as fast as I could. Honest.” Bits of white creamy froth flecked the corners of his mouth, clear evidence of his speed-eating.
ElsBeth’s eyes were on Frankie but she was pulled inside Robert’s thoughts again. She really wished this wasn’t happening.
“If I let Frankie on, I’ll have to let the girls on, too. But what if ... It’s a hasty plan but ... I’m going with it.”
“Come aboard, shipmates,” he said sweetly ... which ElsBeth realized later should have been warning enough.
She started up the plank.
“No! Frankie, you first.”
Frankie shouldered his oversized backpack, no doubt filled with his mother’s delicious Italian and New England edibles. He easily pushed his big-boned frame past ElsBeth, who followed a step behind.
Just as Frankie got his weight on deck ... Robert kicked aside the gangplank.
ElsBeth hung suspended a long moment. A really long moment.
Another ability ElsBeth had recently discovered — and unlike hearing thoughts in her head, this was something she liked about being a witch — she could slow down time.
She couldn’t control this well, it mostly just happened. But when it did, she could see and do a lot more in the same time than others could. Though this, of course, was also something she didn’t talk about.
So, in a long, slow moment, ElsBeth looked back and saw that Lisa Lee had trailed behind to examine some barnacles, and had just one foot on the plank.
But with Lisa Lee’s lightning reactions, no doubt from her training as a black belt in karate, she twisted mid-air and pulled herself back onto the dock.
The rest of the girls, though, were right behind ElsBeth. So when the plank flew out, after a brief moment of suspension — with horrified and kind of funny looks on their faces — they all landed in the drink.
“Robert Hillman-Jones, you are in so much trouble.” Veronica gurgled and tread water fast, trying to keep her perfect hair from getting further messed up — all the while chewing Robert out with a mouth full of seawater.
ElsBeth sputtered, too.
But Amy had worn a long, pink summer dress and was wrapped up in her skirts, sinking fast.
“Amy’s going under,” Nelson yelled.
Like a skinny superhero, he jumped in. But weighted by sneakers, jacket and all, Nelson promptly began to sink, too.
He bobbed up, and ElsBeth saw he’d lost his glasses. Without them everyone knew he couldn’t see a thing. He disappeared again below the waves.
ElsBeth decided Nelson was in worse trouble than Amy and dived after him.
As she groped around for Nelson, she sensed motion above on the yacht. Looking up through the water she saw Johnny Twofeathers calmly kick off his boat shoes, toss his windbreaker aside, and leap off the ship’s rail in a smooth swan dive, knifing in right next to Amy — like a young Aztec god or an Acapulco cliff diver.
A moment later Johnny surfaced with her and her volumes of dress securely under his arm.
Lisa Lee took up a lobster pot pole and fished Veronica out.
All the others were safe when ElsBeth finally caught hold of Nelson. He fought her blindly but she dragged him all the way to the surface.
“Amy! I can’t find Amy!” Nelson couldn’t see that Amy was already up on the pier, looking worriedly down at him.
“She’s safe, Nelson,” ElsBeth said, but he didn’t hear. He continued to splash and hit out at her. They both went back under, sinking fast into the dark.
The air in her lungs screamed. She wasn’t ready to break the rules and use magic just yet, but almost. She dodged Nelson’s kicking feet, got behind him, and pushed up. Again they broke through.
ElsBeth gulped all the air she could while Nelson thrashed weakly, gasped and spit seawater.
From the pier Johnny tossed a life ring that perfectly lassoed Nelson, and ElsBeth guided him to safety out of the water.
With one look at his blindly blinking eyes, she knew she had to go back for his glasses. So she dived in and … OK, she broke the rules a little, and using her seventh or eight sense or whatever it was, she grabbed them away from a curious lobster.
Limp from her struggles she only barely managed to pull herself onto the pier, drop Nelson’s glasses in his lap and roll onto her back. Above her, Robert frowned down from the rail.
He seemed surprised and genuinely puzzled by all the commotion beneath him. And, oh no, she could hear his thoughts again. Loud, angry thoughts.
“I should be away on open water by now and searching for treasure. Instead I’m stuck dockside, with a bunch of wet girls to deal with. And Nelson.”
He never let enter his scheming mind that he had caused all this.
ElsBeth stood up, dripping, but with an eye on Robert. He looked out to sea, his thoughts still churning. Finally, he said the girls could come aboard.
That Veronica had continued with ever more fearful threats, and that the sun was coming up in the sky on a day made for treasure hunting, had probably urged him toward this most rational decision.
So — some wet, some dry, some mad, some even madder — the Cape crew was off.
But what was that black streak that crossed the plank just before it was pulled aboard?
Frankie swore he saw something. But when they all looked, there was nothing there.
Chapter 3
Storm Off the Vineyard
ElsBeth’s hair started to frizz, along with her mood. The rest of the drenched girls did not look at all pleased about the launch party, either. Even most of the boys looked at least uncomfortable that the girls were upset.
Hillman-Jones did not notice or seem to care about all this one bit. As they left the marina, he stood tall and looked completely content in command of his Uncle Preston’s made-for-racing yacht, the Sea Charmer. As if nothing had happened, he snapped out orders to raise the sails.
ElsBeth could see that Frankie wasn’t just uncomfortable, he was upset, too, and her attitude softened — though she quickly found out his upset had nothing to do with the mean prank Hillman-Jones had pulled in the marina.
“Man, I saw a Boston cream pie in the kitchen this morning,” Frankie said to Johnny. “Some of that should have been in my lunch, but look ... ” He opened his backpack. “All I got is whoopie pies. My brothers will have first shot at the Boston cream, and I’m sure they won’t leave me any. Some things can really get to a person.”
Johnny nodded, his expression carefully serious.
But ElsBeth had to laugh. Something about Frankie was just plain funny, no matter what else was going on. And it wasn’t just his crew cut.
The sun rose warm and full and so did their spirits, and attentions on board turned to the pleasures of a sail in the bright Cape waters.