of the pirate ship. Rude gestures and bloodthirsty curses
filled the air. Above all sounded a thunderous cackling
from Corroboc. The faces fled the railing, to reappear
elsewhere on the ship as the crew swarmed up the masts.
Oars began to dip as dull-eyed galley slaves took up the
cue provided by whip and drum. The big ship began to
come about.
But this time the sloop was sailing with the wind to
port. The square-rigged pirate craft could not tack as well
as the modern, fore-rigged sloop, nor could it overtake
them on oar power. Still, with the galley slaves driven to
collapse, it looked for a moment as if Corroboc might still
close the distance between vessels. Then Mudge finally
puzzled out the rigging that lifted the spinnaker. The
racing sail ballooned to its full extent, filled with wind,
and the sloop fairly leaped away from its pursuers.
THE DAY OF THE DISSONANCE
133
“We made it, we’re away!” Jon-Tom shouted gleefully.
Mudge joined him in the stern. The otter balanced
precariously on the bobbing aft end railing, turned his back
to the pirate ship, and pulled down his pants. Bending
over, he made wonderfully insulting faces between his
legs. The pirates responded with blood-chilling promises
of what they’d do if they caught the sloop, but their words,
like their ship, were rapidly falling astern.
“Yes, we made it.” Jalwar glanced speculatively up at
the billowing sails. “If the wind holds.”
As soon as his audience had dropped out of sight,
Mudge ceased his contortions and jumped to the deck,
buttoning his shorts.