the ocean liner and then further below.
" And whatever am I to do about this!" Brunhilde Bamfield exclaimed, reaching down toward the hole in the floor. " That blob was meant for my husband... I mean, sister, in San Francisco!"
I knew at once the cause of the ship ' s collapse from the sky had been the blob.
" It was so tiny," she said. " I feared it was not strong, and would perish from lack of care, but you see how it escaped. Through the pirate— by eating it!"
And then we heard a noise come from below like the great groaning of a whale. The metal of the ocean liner ' s hull was buckling beneath. At that moment the Pirate King pushed between our group, kicking out a window. Sir Hammerhorn grabbed the nearest lady and yelled, " To the life boats!" After that, there was considerable commotion. I tried to take hold of Brunhilde or Percy, but both were far too distraught to be of any real help in this venture.
" It ' s my best hat!" Cyprien wept bitterly in the commotion.
I grabbed Cyprien ' s arm. " Quickly- perhaps it is not too late to save the ocean liner."
It was a simple matter to see which way the creature had gone: straight down.
" Do you see any wayward water down there, Cyprien? For I am wearing wool, and I dare not risk the destruction of my only remaining dress!" " No, Miss." " Through the hole!" I charged. Cyprien grabbed a rope, and we both climbed down to the next level. The hole in the deck below was larger than the hole on the floor above. We proceeded through it as well, passing through many decks. It was darker than I would have liked in the boiler room. There was, of course, the ambient red glow of the massive furnaces, but the boiler pipes were melted and corroded far beyond what seemed safe. The floors, however, were intact. There, laying in some ooze, was Cyprien ' s hat. He clutched it to