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As Septimus neared the North Gate he heard the sound of raised voices "You can&039;t stop"You can&039;t keep o after Simon, then I will So there!"

"Over rowl

"With pleasure!"

"Stop it both of you Please!" shouted Mrs Gringe "I&039; to run, are you, dear?"

"Of course I aht now!"

"Oh, no, you&039;re not!" yelled Gringe

"Oh, yes, I am!"

"Oh, no, you&039;re not"

Septie dart inside the gatehouse Anoise as the e started to e inding up the drawbridge

Lucy Gringe knew the sound well; she had heard it every sunset and sunrise of her life Septiea short but athletic-looking woman who looked ree

"Stop!" yelled Mrs Gringe, running after her daughter "Stopyou&039;ll get yourself killed"

"Fat lot you care," screa out behind her, as she went tearing up the slowly increasing incline of the drawbridge, intending to throw herself across the widening gap between the bridge and the opposite bank Mrs Gringe raced after her daughter Suddenly she launched herself into an expert flying tackle and brought Lucy crashing down onto the thick wooden planks of the bridge

In the gatehouse the deafening clanking of the chains drowned out all the sounds of the drae carried on winding up the bridge, unaware that Lucy and Mrs Gringe were now fiercely fighting each other as Lucy struggled to reach the end of the bridge But with every second, the incline was beco steeper, and soon it was far too steep for Lucy to make any headway at all It was all she could do to stay where she ith her fingers clutched around an iron ring e like a liatehouse the heavily sweating Gringe gave another turn to the chains and the drawbridge reared up yet again It was now beginning to point toward the sky Suddenly Lucy could hold on no longer Her fingers let go of the ring, and she and herdown the nearly vertical slope And as they landed in a bruised and squabbling heap on the cobbles of the gate, the drawbridge closed with a loud clang and an earthshaking thue, exhausted by his effort, collapsed on the floor and resolved to be nicer to the Bridge Boy, who usually wound up the bridge He wouldn&039;t like to have to do that again in a hurry

Septimus slipped away He didn&039;t have ties to patch up their quarrel and let the bridge down again He decided to go down to Jannit Maarten&039;s boatyard, where Jannit ran a ferry service across the Moat, if she happened to be there

Septimus decided to take a chance that she would be

Half an hour later Septimus had reached the tunnel under the Castle wall that led to Jannit Maarten&039;s boatyard The yard was on a quay beside the Moat, just outside the Wall Septied into the sunlight and a chaotic juh assorted sails, ropes, anchors and endless contraptions that were essential for building boats, Septiht that the boatyard was deserted, until the sound of voices drifted to hie of the Moat Septimus made his way over to the here?" It was a voice that Septireen tunic a in the prow of a long, narrow boat; he was a little taller than his brother Septimus and much more solidly built And unlike his brother&039;s pale complexiona result of weeks on end spent inside the Wizard TowerNicko&039;s s fair hair was caked with salt froled frohtly colored braids woven through the boatmen at the Port, and Nicko had taken to the braids with enthusias with a collection of wristbands to reen eyes that Wizard children get when they co a Wizard, but he could turn his hand to a few spells if he had to, and, like all the Heap children (except Septiyk as a child by his parents

Next to Nicko was a tall young rue, Lucy&039;s brother Jannit Maarten, the boat-builder, was on the boatyard pontoon securing the boat with a rope

"Nickoyou&039;re back!" yelled Septi over a pile of planks and so toward his brother He was surprised at how pleased and relieved he felt to see him Nicko would understand about Jenna; Septimus was sure of that Jannit Maarten smiled at Septimusshe was fond of all the Heaps Nicko had recently started helping her and Rupert at the boatyard and she was i-looking worubby blue smock

She had a pleasant nut-brown, deeply lined face, and her hair was plaited into a long, thin, gray ponytail which hung sailor-style down her back Jannit lived and breathed boats; she slept in the small tumbledown hut at the entrance of the boatyard and rarely ventured out of the yard

Although there were other boatyards at the Castle, Jannit Maarten&039;s was the best She had taken on Rupert Gringe as her apprentice when he had just turned eleven and it wasshe was fond of telling anyone ould listenthe best thing she had ever done Rupert was a gifted boatbuilder He had an eye for the line of the boat and an instinctive sense of how each boat he built was going to sit in the water, and of how she would respond to the wind

Jannit was almost as pleased with Nicko Nicko&039;s first project was helping Rupert build a new Muriel for Sally Mullin, who had given her much-loved boat to the Heaps for their escape the previous year, and Jannit could see that he had a good eye and was skillful with his hands

Nicko was also a natural sailor, better, in fact, than Rupert Gringe; and so it was to Nicko, much to Rupert&039;s irritation, that Jannit addressed her question, "How did she sail then?"

"Like a dog in a bucket," growled Rupert, deteret a word in

Jannit&039;s face fell The boat had been her pet project but nothing had gone right with it from the start She looked at Nicko for his opinion

"It wasn&039;t good, Jannit," he adet repairs down at the Port"

"It was that bad?" said Jannit "Imy touch"

"Nah Of course you&039;re not," said Rupert "Just teething troubles We&039;ll figure it out"

"Oh, well" Jannit sighed "You boys will be wanting to get back and see your fas out here"

"All right, Jannit," said Rupert, "I&039;ll be off then I&039; forward to a bit of peace and quiet after that creaking,boat we&039;ve been stuck on"

"Er, Rupert," Septi "It&039;s, uatehouse There&039;s been a bit of trouble"

Rupert looked at Septimus suspiciously He had inherited his father&039;s h he had to admit that Nicko Heap wasn&039;t too bad, he was none too sure about the fancy Wizard&039;s Apprentice all dressed up in his swanky bright green tunic and dinky Apprentice belt

"Yeah?" he said warily "What trouble?"