Page 18 (1/2)

But the sailors took no notice of her Instead they pushed Davy Linnet to the fore

"Here he is, yerthe Tropic"

Mr Grayson leveled his "trident" at the lad "If you wish to crossAnd you must tell the truth, do you understand? No one lies to the Sea King If you attempt to deceive me, I shall know it And then I’ll suck you down into the depths of the ocean to live with the eels, never to be heard fro uncertain whether to laugh or tremble

"Aye, sir"

"Aye, your majesty," Triton corrected

Davy shuffled his feet "Aye, yer ainst the mast, and Davy was made to stand upon it Somewhere in the crowd, a sailor hter

Mr Grayson banged his mop-handle trident on the deck for silence--once, twice The men hushed, and he turned to Davy "Now then, boy, tellwent the mop handle "Your e, Davy Linnet?"

"Fifteen, sir"

Bang

Davy juan to circle the lad at a leisurely pace "From whence do you hail, Davy Linnet?"

"Fros have you?"

"Five, yer majesty Four sisters and one brother"

"Are your parents living?"

"Both, sir Er, yer majesty"

Mr Grayson turned slowly on his heel, his ar as he propped the a slipped, and he casually repositioned the fabric with his free hand But not before Sophia gliular circle of pink, puckered flesh nearly the size of her palm She pressed her own hand to her throat

"And tell iven a choice, do you prefer brown bread or white?"

"White, yer an to relax, a shy s on his face Clearly, he’d anticipated a harsher interrogation than this He’d anticipated correctly

"Ever stolen anything, Davy Linnet?"

The boy’s smile vanished, and his brow creased "Wh-what?"

"Have you"--Mr Grayson leveled the ? Are you a thief?"

Davy hedged "Well, I’ve nicked a scrap here and there in my time Food, mostly"

"Mostly?"

Davy’s eyes hardened "Mostly" Mr Grayson held his silence, but the youth did not elaborate Finally, he added, "Weren’t ave hier excuses theft, does it?"

"N-no, sir No, yer majesty"

"Would you steal from your crewmates?"

"No," Davy shot back, resolute He looked around at the sailors "No"

Bang

"No, yer majesty"

Mr Grayson turned a slow circle "What if you were hungry?"

"No, yer majesty Not fro If I’ry"

Mr Grayson gave a stiff nod, obviously satisfied with Davy’s response He paused a long beat Then his posture changed abruptly as he leaned back against the ship’s rail "Have you a wife, Davy Linnet?"

The boy chuckled, obviously relieved at the change of subject "No, yerHow many sweethearts have you had?"