I hate instructions that begin with Step Number One, because that means there are seven thousand more steps coming.
“Step Number One,” Collin repeated. “Take the line to the ear of the cleat furthest from the load.”
Hello! Can somebody translate that into English?
“Step Number Two,” Collin read on. “Start your figure eight across the top of the opposite ear.”
Check, please. I'm out of here.
“Hey, Collin,” I said. “Excuse me a minute. I've got to use the head.”
I dropped the rope and took off. I needed Frankie.
I found him and Luke sitting with a group of kids at the stern of the ship. (How about
that
for nautical vocabulary?) They were studying the sky while Mr. Gladson explained how sailors navigate using the stars.
“Psst, Frankie,” I whispered, and motioned for him to come over to me. Mr. Gladson stopped talking and frowned at me.
“Are you having trouble with your knots, sailor?” he asked.
“No way. Piece of cake. We'll be getting that certificate for sure. I just need to talk to Frankie for a second.”
Frankie didn't look happy about it, but he got up and came over to me.
“I'm in trouble,” I whispered to him. “I need help.”
“Go ask your new best friend Collin,” Frankie said. He started to leave, but I pulled him back.
“Frankie, listen. We're supposed to tie the ship down, but I can't figure the knot out. We're all going to float away.”
“No we're not,” he said. “Use your head, man. The boat is already tied down. Didn't you see the huge rope wound around that thingamajig on the dock?”
“It's called a cleat.”
“Wow, listen to you, matey. Whatever. You think they're going to let a kid be responsible for making sure we don't drift out to sea?”
He had a point. But Mr. Gladson told us we had to tie down the other two ropes. And there was the line handlers certificate to consider. Collin really wanted that.
“Frankie,” I begged. “You know how I am with directions. Come on, you've got to help me. It'll be fun. I'll give you my certificate.”
“Oh, now you want to hang out with me?” he said. “Forget it.”
“But Frankieâ”
“This is the way you wanted it, dude. Tie your heart out.”
Frankie went back and took his seat with the group.
On my way back to our station, I ran into Collin. He was heading down the stairs to go below deck.
“Did you give up?” I asked, hoping like crazy that he had.
“I just got cold,” he said. “I'll get our jackets and be back.”
While I waited for Collin, I leaned over the railing and stared out at the dock. That big rope Frankie had talked about was bouncing up and down as it strained against the cleat. The moon was shining, and I could see the knot clearly. It didn't look so complicated from where I was. In fact, all of a sudden, it was big and clear.
They should make diagrams in books that big, I thought. Then they'd be much easier to follow.
Wait a minute. That's it. My brain started going so fast that I thought I
actually heard it clicking.
Yes! Hank Daniel Zipzer. You just had a brilliant idea.
CHAPTER 19
YOU HAVE TO KNOW THIS ABOUT ME. When I get a good idea, I move fast. There's no stopping me. My brilliant idea required that I leave the boat. So I zipped over to the gangway as fast as my short little legs could carry me.
I could see one of the boat's crew members leaning up against the rail guarding the gangway.
Hector Ruiz and a kid from the other school were standing watch on a platform just past the real sailor. I walked past the guard as naturally as I could and over to Hector.
“Hey, Hector, I need you to do something for me.”
“I can't now. I'm on watch,” he said.
“Hector, this is important. Would you call the guard over and ask him how long your watch period is?”
“I know how long it is. It's two hours.”
“Then ask him something you don't know. I need you to keep him talking.”
“Why?” Hector asked.
“Trust me, it's for the good of the ship.” I was lucky that Hector didn't ask me in what way it was good for the ship. He did, however, say, “Why should I do this for you?”
“Hey, Hector, remember the time ...”
My brain froze. What time?
Think, Hank!
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “What time?”
“You know, the time,” I said, stalling a minute for my brain to catch up with me. “The time I passed that note for you to Tiffany Marshall so you wouldn't get caught throwing it to her.”
“So?” Hector said.
“So? Are you kidding? Ms. Adolf looked up just as I handed Tiffany the note. And I took the heat.”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, smiling. “You went to Principal Love's office for the fifty-third time that week. Hey, did I ever thank you for that?”
“No, but you can now. Just go talk to that sailor, and keep him busy until you see me back on deck.”
Hector nodded and called the sailor over to him. The guy turned his back to me and started walking toward Hector's platform. Once I saw them talking, I was off that ship, down the gangway, and on the dock in no time. I scurried right up to the metal cleat with the huge rope fastened to it. I got down on my knees and inspected the knot closely. I looked at it from the top and from the side and from underneath. I could see every loop of it. This was much better than any old diagram. This was studying the real thing, up close and personal.
Frankie and I have put together enough toys for me to know that I learn how to do it best when I actually do it myself. He shows me once, then I do it myself.
I knew that if I could just take that knot apart one time, to see how the rope slipped through the loops, I could do it again. It would just take a minute. The boat wasn't going anywhere in just a minute.
It was a four-step plan.
1. Take the knot apart very slowly.
2. Remember every step.
3. Put the knot back together just the way it was.
4. Go back and impress Collin with how smart I am.
The rope was wet and slimy when I touched it. It practically took up my whole hand just to hold it. This wasn't any little rope. It was as thick around as one of the salamis that hang over the counter in our deli.
I took a deep breath.
Ready, begin. Concentrate, Hank.
I slipped the end of the rope off the cleat and unwound it carefully and slowly. I could see why they call it a figure eight. The rope was wrapped around the cleat so that it looked like the number 8. I kept unwinding it until I could see the bottom of the cleat. There was one funny loop down there. It had a kind of hook in it. I pulled hard on the rope and the hook came undone. It slid off the cleat straight into my hand.
Excellent job, Hank. You were really concentrating. Now just put it back on.
“Hank, where are you, bud?” It was Collin, coming back from below deck.
Hurry, Hank. You don't want him to see you here. Re-tie the knot. Just like it was.
I threw the heavy rope around the cleat so that it would catch.
Ooops. It's not staying. Why is it sliding off?
“Hank! Get your butt over here,” Collin called again. “This isn't hide-and-seek.”
I had to move on to the figure eight part of the knot. I wrapped the rope around the cleat in the shape of the number 8.
Wait a minute. That doesn't look like an eight. It looks more like a three. Maybe even a three-and-a-half.
“Hank, the captain's coming up from downstairs for inspection,” Collin called.
I had to hurry. I figured that my figure eight was close enough. Now all I had to do was fasten the rope down with a little loop.
Uh-oh. That's a big loop. A really big loop.
I stood back and looked at the knot I had tied. It didn't look exactly like the one that had been there before. I admit it wasn't perfect. But it was good enough. I was sure of that.
At least, I was pretty sure.
CHAPTER 20
I CREPT UP THE GANGWAY SO QUIETLY that Collin couldn't hear me. Keeping low to the ground, I snuck across the deck until I was in back of him, and then popped out from behind a sail.
“Boo!” I said.
“Where have you been?” he asked.
“I have my places,” I said. “An experienced sailor like me knows his way around a ship.”
“I brought you this,” he said, tossing me my jacket. “In case you're interested, your pocket's glowing.”
“It must be my tiny alien brother,” I said.
Collin cracked up.
“He begged to come along,” I continued. “You know what pests alien brothers can be.”
Then I looked at my pocket. There actually
was
a blue light coming from it. Papa Pete's cell phone! I had forgotten to give it back to him.
Typical, Hank.
Suddenly, we heard footsteps coming toward us.
“Hide your phone! Quick!” Collin said. “The captain's coming.”
I turned off the phone and stuffed it in my pocket just as the captain appeared in front of us.
“You two pollywogs tying up the ship for the night?” he said.
“Aye, Captain, but we're having a little trouble with our cleat hitch,” Collin said. “Do you think you could help us, sir?”
A funny look crossed his face. It was the same look I get when Ms. Adolf asks me to locate Nebraska on the map and I have no idea where it is.
“You're asking me to help?” he roared.
“Yes, sir.”
“Not on your life, matey!” he shouted. “I'm captain of this ship, not a deckhand.”
“If you could justâ” Collin began, but the captain stomped off really fast. Obviously, he didn't want to be talking to us about tying knots.
We did the best we could with the two mooring lines. Collin read me the directions, and I tried to remember how to wrap the rope around the cleat. When I was done, the knots looked a little better than the big one I had tied.
“That's good enough,” Collin said, looking over my two messy knots. At least he didn't think I was a total moron. “The big line is secure, anyway. It's not like the boat is going anyplace.”
I gulped hard. Boy, did I hope he was right.
After that, we had a lot of fun. All the kids got to gather below deck and listen as Mr. Gladson told us an exciting story about a ship that crashed during a storm at Cape Horn. Then it was time to get in our bunks. Ashley went off with all the girls. Frankie chose the bunk next to Ryan Shimozato and farthest away from me.
Collin and I took the bunks closest to the door, because we had to wake up in two hours to stand watch. Our shift was from two in the morning until four. A couple of guys from PS 9 said they had dibs on the bunk next to Collin.
“Back off, guys,” he said. “This one's saved for Hank.” I felt pretty special.
As we were settling down into our bunks, Nick McKelty walked by.
“You're a turkey,” he said, giving me a poke in the ribs.
“You got what you deserved, McKelty,” I answered. “Doesn't feel so good, does it?”
“The captain's a turkey too,” he said. “I'm going to tell my dad. He'll get that guy fired.”
“Your dad can't do that,” Collin said.
“Sure he can,” McKelty said. “He's best friends with the mayor of New York.”
“Yeah, and my name's Bernice,” I said.
Collin laughed really hard.
That was Frankie's line. When he says it, it always makes me laugh too.
I looked over at Frankie. He was hanging out with Ryan Shimozato and a bunch of the guys in our class. They were all watching while he was making a nickel disappear. Frankie was always a lot of fun.
I felt myself wishing that I was over there with him.
CHAPTER 21
SOMEONE WAS SHAKING MY SHOULDER. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I had no idea where I was or who was waking me up in the middle of the night.
“Stand up, matey,” said a voice. “It's time for your watch.”
I rubbed my eyes and looked around. It was pitch-black in the bunk room, except for the candle that Mr. Gladson held next to his face.
“Up on deck with you,” he said. “I'll stay below with the others. Hurry, now. Keep a lookout for pirates and looters.”
I woke Collin. We put on our jackets and we dragged ourselves out of our bunks and up the stairs. And when I say dragged, I'm not exaggerating. I was so tired, I felt like I was walking through mud.
We pushed open the hatch and went out on deck. It was cold out there. A pretty strong wind had blown up during the night. The boat was swaying a lot. The sails were flapping in the wind. Funny, they hadn't done that before.
Collin flopped himself down on a bench next to the poop deck. He looked like he was asleep sitting up. I hauled my dead legs over to the railing to have a look around. You never know when you're going to meet a pirate in New York City. You can't be too careful.
I looked out toward the dock. The dock wasn't there.
I ran to the other side of the boat and looked down. The dock wasn't there either.
Oh, no! Where were those docks? They were there when we went to sleep.
We were surrounded on all sides by water. The lights from the pier were far away. The Brooklyn Bridge wasn't right next to us, like it had been. It was off in the distance.