"Have a good life, Robert!" he yelled. "I'll miss ya!"

Spill stood up. "You too, Randall. Thanks for everything."

"Here's a clue," I yelled. "Eat your veggies!"

If he answered, we couldn't hear him.

"You chose a vegetable?" Spill asked. "That won't take him long."

"Oh, I don't know," I said, laughing. "I chose zucchini, zucchini, and I can never remember how to spell it." and I can never remember how to spell it."

43.

WE SCRAMBLED DOWN THE LADDER, AND GRANDPA grabbed me in a bear hug before I was all the way into the hull. "Oh, thank G.o.d!" he said. "I was afraid he was leaving without you."

I clutched his arm. "I don't have a good feeling about this boat."

"Shush," he said, glancing at the kids.

"You don't think we're going to sink, do you?" I whispered to Spill.

He laughed. "It's all appearances, Mol. Relax."

But how could I relax? Worrying about ending up in quarantine or worse had wound my nerves up tighter than my curls on a wet day. Now that we were aboard, all my fears of trying to sneak the kids into Canada came rushing back like a tidal wave too.

"Strap yourselves in!" the captain yelled through the open hatch above us. "Better hold the kids." And then he slammed it shut, taking every extra sc.r.a.p of fresh air with him.

"Seems a bit excessive for a sailboat," I said.

"This boat's a runner," Spill explained.

"What's a runner?" I asked.

"You'll see," Spill said, smiling.

Grandpa's eyes lit up. "Really? A runner? I thought those were only for the military."

"That's why it's disguised as a decrepit fishing boat," Spill said. He helped Grandpa get into one of the tiny seats with Brandy in his lap and hooked the harness over both of them. Then he strapped Grandma and Michael into the other seat and put my fiddle, our packs, and Grandma's suitcase in a storage bin and latched the lid.

"I guess we're on the bunk," Spill told me.

I sat on the edge. "I don't think I'll last for two days in here."

"Who said anything about two days?" he said. "It's more like three or four hours."

"Yeah, right," I said. "I did study geography in school. Sail-boats are really slow, you know?"

Spill scooted onto the bunk until he was near the wall. "I told you, this is a runner."

The volume of the humming increased, and I watched in amazement as everyone's hair slowly rose in the air and stood on end. Brandy and Michael burst out laughing and then we all joined in. "What's happening?" I asked.

"Static electricity," Spill explained. "It's a by-product of the Magno Waterborne Ocean Module."

Whatever that meant. It was pretty funny to see everyone's hair sticking up, though.

"Hold on, Molly," Spill said.

All the slow rolling as we wove our way out of the marina made my stomach turn over. I swallowed hard. Once we were in the open water, there was a loud whine from the engine and then we suddenly picked up speed. It felt more like flying than being on a boat. We could hear the water shooting out behind us, and it gave me this really powerful rush of adrenaline, which actually was kind of exhilarating.

"It seems like we're airborne!" I yelled over the noise.

"Almost," Spill yelled back.

I was just thinking that it wasn't so bad when the boat lurched to one side, tossing us to the end of the bunk, then flinging us the other way before we could regain our balance. On the third lurch, we lost our grip and were thrown onto the floor right at my grandparents' feet.

"What's going on?" I yelled over the noise.

"It's the zigzag effect," Spill explained, also shouting. "That's why everyone else is strapped in and we wish we were."

I struggled towards the bed, and Spill gave me a shove onto the mattress.

"What does that mean?"

"The boat goes in a zig-" His words got lost as we slammed together. I'd never had Spill's body pressed up so close to mine, and I think I would've liked it a lot if I hadn't been about to lose my dinner.

"The boat goes in a zigzag," he tried again, breathlessly. "But I don't really know how it works."

"I do!" Grandpa said, glowing with pride under the green pallor of his waxy skin. "There's a computerized module that's in sync with the magnetic float sensors, and it's programmed to avoid hitting the swells of the ocean straight on. It sort of zips in between them, allowing for greater speed and less f riction."

"Less friction for who?" I yelled.

The boat lurched again, sending me towards the floor, but Spill grabbed hold of my leg before I was tossed all the way out.

"You two all right?" Grandpa yelled.

"Is it like this all the way?" I asked.

"Probably," Spill said as we slid off the bed onto the floor again. We got back on the mattress, and Spill managed to get a grip, but this time we were crushed together.

"Molleee?" Grandma called.

"I'm okay," I gasped.

Brandy and Michael began to cry.

"I feel like the chicken pieces Mom puts in a bag with flour and shakes up before she fries them," I said.

Spill gave me a wan smile, but he looked like he wished I hadn't mentioned food. Eventually I got the idea of lying on the bunk and weighing myself down with Spill. Or maybe it was his idea. Either way, it wasn't the romantic scenario I'd imagined. I clung to him around the waist, and he crushed me into the mattress. Still . . . having his body pressed against me like that made me kind of fl.u.s.tered. When I caught his eye, he actually blushed and turned his head away.

After what might have been days, but was probably only hours, the boat slowed to an easy glide and finally rested, bobbing on the water.

"Everyone okay?" Grandpa asked.

His face was a lovely shade of green. Brandy had been sick and looked like she might be again. It was stifling hot in the hull, and the stench was enough to make me heave too. When the hatch opened and a rush of salty sea air poured over us, we all gulped in deep breaths.

The captain's face poked through the hole. "Canadian Coast Guard's out in full force. We're gonna have to go up north to Parksville or thereabouts."

"That's great news!" I said. "That's a lot closer to home."

Finally something was going our way!

Spill and I lay on the bed next to each other not moving, letting our organs settle back into place. His warm body pressed against my side and relaxed me. I lost track of how long we floated with the hatch open. I might have even dozed a little.

"I think we should try to stick together," Spill said after a while. "But with the Coast Guard out there, we might have to split up."

"If we do, we should meet at the north end of town on the highway. It'll be pretty easy for you to find it because there are signs that say Canada 1 everywhere," I said.

"Sounds good," Spill agreed.

The captain stuck his head through the hatch again and told us it was time to climb up on deck, but we had to lie low and follow instructions or he'd throw us overboard.

Spill went first, and Grandpa lifted the weakened kids one at a time up to him on deck. Then we pa.s.sed the luggage and Jewels up. Grandma and I followed. Grandpa brought up the rear. We all lay down on the deck, the ocean wind tearing at our hair and clothes, damp air filling our lungs.

"Scoot on over closer to the railing and wait," the captain said. "I've lowered the extra magno-floats so I'm getting enough lift to run this baby almost onto the sand and still get away fast if I need to, but you'll have to wade in."

"When we're all out safe," Spill told him, "you'll get the second half of your fee." He slipped me the gold. We didn't want the captain to know exactly who had the money.

"And I want extra for the suitcase," the captain said.

"How much?" I asked.

"Another piece of gold."

I started to argue, but Spill said, "Fine. I'll cover it."

"It's too much money," I protested.

"We're not really in a position to negotiate now," Spill told me. "I'm going first. Jack, you're next. Molly, you hand down the kids and then help Katharine."

The captain scoured the sh.o.r.e with night-vision goggles. "Go now!"

Spill was over the edge in a flash, and Grandpa flung himself out of the boat so fast he sent up a splash, drenching the rest of us. We handed down Michael and Brandy, and then I helped Grandma over the railing. She had a lot of trouble raising her right leg, but she got over in the end, and Spill steadied her as she landed in the water. I handed down the backpacks next.

"Give me the suitcase," Spill said.

As I reached for it, so did the captain. "I'll be keeping that," he said. "If you think it's worth a whole piece of gold, there must be something really valuable in there."

"There's not! At least not to you!" I said. I grabbed the handle and pulled as hard as I could, but the boat was swaying on the shallow waves and my feet slipped on the smooth planks. In the distance, dogs began to bark.

"Let it go, Molly," Spill ordered me. "Hurry. Someone's coming!"

I yanked on it, bracing my foot against an old wood box. This was all my grandmother had left of her life, and I was not leaving without my half-sewn maid-of-honor dress, either.

"Here's your pay," I said. I tossed the coins across the deck with a clatter. The captain let go and scurried after the rolling gold. I heaved the suitcase to Spill, grabbed Jewels, and had one leg over the railing when I froze. All I could see was black below me and it seemed reckless and crazy to just jump into it.

"It's only a few inches deep," Spill said. "Come on!"

The barking dogs got closer, and I could see a light onsh.o.r.e bobbing up and down. A flat hand smacked me square on the small of my back. "Get off my boat!"

I toppled over the edge and landed on my b.u.t.t in the icy water, holding Jewels over my head.

44.

THE WATER WAS BARELY ANKLE-DEEP, AND I STAGGERED to my feet as the boat sped away. We all stood breathless in a little knot.

"Molly, you're going to have to create a diversion," Spill said. "Go towards the sh.o.r.e and start screaming for help. We'll stand here as long as we can and then we'll hide somewhere."

"North end of town," I said. "Tomorrow."

"Who's out there?" yelled a man onsh.o.r.e. The dogs barked and whined, plunging into the water.

I took a deep breath. "Help! I've been thrown overboard!" I yelled. "Help me!" I took a few steps towards the sh.o.r.e, but then Michael began to cry. He screamed and yelled like someone was beating him. Grandma thrust him into my arms. I splashed forward, clutching him to me.

A man with a lantern was waiting for us onsh.o.r.e. He whistled to the dogs, and four energetic Labs came running and sat at his feet. "Are you all right?" he asked.

I wanted to yell for joy. Of course I was all right. I was back in Canada! But I knew that I wasn't home free yet. "I think we're okay," I said. "Just wet. And my brother's scared of the dogs."

The man tried to help me by taking either Michael or the fiddle, but I held on to both. "Thanks, but I've got them." Michael clung to me so tightly I couldn't have set him down if I'd wanted to anyway.

"What're you doing out here?" the man asked.

"I was visiting my grand-er, our our grandparents in the States, and I paid a man to bring us home, but he dumped us here." grandparents in the States, and I paid a man to bring us home, but he dumped us here."