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The low, slanting rays froh the stern hatch, half-blinding Septimus, Beetle and Wolf Boy as they ran up the steps to the open doors They eht, and were met with a scene of chaos Milo and his battered creere desperately piling spars, sails, barrels and anything heavy they could drag on top of the doors to the cargo hold Lucy and Snorri were throwing on a heavy coil of rope and Ullr, fur on end, was following Snorri like an anxious orange shadow Nicko and the bosun were nailing a large plank across the doors, but each stroke of their ha thud fro upward e, Jenna spotted Septi their way forward She left the barrel she was helping to drag across the doors and ran to join theasped "There&039;s soer than those three you chucked in It - it&039;s trying to get out And Milooh, I know he makes a fuss about stuff, but this time it&039;s for real Look at him!"

Milo looked desperate Velvet slippers abandoned, his nightgown as grubby as any deckhand&039;s, he and Nicko were frantically dragging another plank across the doors

"Get ato the bosun

The bosun shouted so back

"You won&039;t have a ship to leave if you don&039;t nail these doors shut right now!" Milo bellowed

Wolf Boy rushed forward to help Beetle and Septimus went to follow, but Jenna stopped the I meant to tell you," she said "And Beetle should know too"

"What, Jen?"

"Well, while you were at that pigeon place, Milo had soo hold"

"Milo was always having soo hold," said Septimus

"Yes, I know But he toldto anyway, as I don&039;t see what right he has to go around telling me what to do or what not to do It was a o to the Manuscriptoriuot home"

"The Manuscriptorium?" asked Beetle "Why?"

"I don&039;t know He started on about so else, so I didn&039;t ask You knohat he&039;s like"

"Did you see inside the chest?" asked Septimus

"There wasn&039;t much to see Just tons of little lead tubes lined up in trays"

"Lead tubes?" asked Beetle "How many exactly?"

"I don&039;t know," said Jenna impatiently

"You must have some idea Ten, fifty, a hundred, a thousand - how many?"

"Wellthousands, I suppose Gosh, Beetle, you&039;re worse than Jillie Djinn"

"Thousands?"

"Yes, thousands Look, what does it matter how many?" Jenna sounded exasperated

"Surely, whatunderneath the tubes"

"I think," said Beetle slowly, "that whatin the tubes - don&039;t you, Sep?"

"Yes," replied Septimus, "I think that matters quite a bit"

"In the tubes?" Jenna asked

"What do you oshwhat&039;s that!"

Another tremendous thud shook the ship - but this ti noise froo-hold doors Nicko and the bosun&039;s plank were tossed aside like e And then it began - slowly, steadily, relentlessly, the two doors rose fro - spars falling, barrels rolling and people flying like ninepins

Milo was thrown into a tangle of ropes hanging from a broken spar and pinned there by the plank Wolf Boy was sent flying by a barrel of tar, and Snorri and Ullr narrowlysquashed by one of the lifeboats

The hatch doors had now reached a point of no return They wavered for a moment, and then suddenly, with a thunderous crash, they s the debris into so hold wide open Everyone scattered, but the sight that came next stopped all in their tracks

As if on an invisibleplatfor froo hold Some of the round, thinking that Fry and his hench, but others who lookedain Jenna was re Equinox Fair This time it was the acrobatic cloho had formed a huht that folloept all thoughts of acrobatic clowns fro - wobbling would be a more accurate description - not on the shoulders of clowns but on the raised shields of four armored warriors

"Warrior jinn," said Beetle "Thought it ht be"

"What do you mean?" asked Jenna

"The lead tubes you saw are classic jinn e units"

"They&039;re what?"

"They&039;ve got jinn in them," Beetle simplified

"What - one in each tube?" Jenna&039;s reat, but even she could work out that that was an awful lot of jinn

"Yeah They don&039;t usually share"

"Share?"

"Twin jinn are extremely rare"

"Oh, so that&039;s just fine then Oh, osh, look at them Theythey&039;re scary"

Everyone on deck had fallen silent, h the hatch, their shields held straight-aro of Fry and the Crowes Leaving it a little late, the cargo half juher until they, in turn, sprang off another line of rising shields They landed on the deck with a synchronized thud, and the entire ship&039;s coasped

The hair on the back of Wolf Boy&039;s neck stood on end There was so inhuman, almost mechanical, about the warriors They stood at least seven feet tall and were clad from head to toe in ancient leather ared hellinted as though struck by fire The jinn stood poised at the ready, short swords drawn, eyes staring blankly forward And if they were not frightening enough, behind the from the hold

Frouard, Theodophilus Fortitude Fry surveyed the du on deck

"Well, well," he said "So someone let you out, did they? I suppose it was these pesky kids" He stared pointedly at Wolf Boy and Lucy "Yer brought yer little friends along, have yer?" Skipper Fry eyeballed Septimus, Jenna and Beetle "If any of yer the ones that pushed us in, yer did us a favor We was goin&039; down there anyway And noe got e came for and there ain&039;t nothin&039; yer can do about it Enjoy the show, kiddywinks Have fun and" - he stared pointedly at Jiot the chance, because if yer plannin&039; on goin&039; back to the Castle, yer won&039;t find it hed "We knoho y&039;are and we don&039;t ever forget a face - do we?"

"No, Skip," chorused the Crowes, "we don&039;t"