told her, “I want you to listen to me. This isn’t just an ordinary wardrobe. It’s a magic wardrobe.”
Laura Glue’s eyes widened and she gave him a lopsided grin. “For really and truly?”
“For really and truly.” Jack nodded.
She looked at Jamie, who also nodded. “More than anyone knows, my dear girl.”
“And if you need it to be,” added Jack, “it can become another world altogether. It can take you wherever you want to go, for as long as you want, and in an instant, it can bring you back, as if no time had passed at all.”
“Wowww…,” said the girl with a yawn. “How do I make it work, Jack?”
“That’s easy,” Jack told her. “Just close your eyes, and dream where you want to go, and suddenly, you’re there.”
“But I do that anyway,” Laura Glue said, leaning back and closing her eyes.
“Yes,” Jack replied as he closed the door, all but a crack, on the drowsing girl. “But here, you’ll always come home. And here, someone will be watching over you. Always.”
“All ready, Jack?” said John.
“Ready. Are we all loaded?”
“Just done,” called Charles from the window. “Jamie’s given us a few stores from his larder, and Bert is anxious to get back tostart looking into this. Although,” he added, “I think he’s greatly relieved that we’re coming with.”
“Was there any doubt?” said John. “Even under these circumstances, now that the opportunity’s here, I find I can’t wait to get back.”
“Same here,” agreed Jack.
Bert’s face, upside down, appeared in the window. “All aboard, lads. It’s time to go.”
Farewells were said to Jamie, and each of them looked in quietly on the angel sleeping soundly in the wardrobe. Of them all, only Jack had noticed that before she fell asleep, Laura Glue had carefully sealed her ears with plugs of beeswax she had had tucked in her tunic.
With Jamie steadying the rope ladder from below, the companions ascended it and climbed into the carriage of the reborn Indigo Dragon .
“It sounds like she’s purring,” Charles exclaimed.
“That’s the engine driving the props,” said John, looking around in awe. “I do kind of miss the old masts and sails, though.”
“Magic lets you skip a lot of steps,” Bert said, “but that doesn’t mean one can completely disregard principles of engineering.
“Ladder up? Good, good,” he continued. “Let’s be off, then.”
“Remember,” Jamie called from the window below, “to get there, just look for the second star on the right….”
“That’s not funny,” Bert replied. “Farewell, James.”
“And you, Bert,” Jamie called back, waving. “Tell your daughter I hope she will not think too ill of me in the future.”
With a final wave, Bert spun the wheel, and the Indigo Dragon whirled about and began to rise into the night air.
Below them the lights of London spread out like glittering pebbles in a dark pool. Everything was edged in a cool light from the rich moon hanging above. And in the distance, clouds had begun to gather. In moments they would be passing into another world. Somehow it seemed less eventful to be doing it in the air, instead of on the more physical surface of the water below.
“That last joke Jamie made,” John said to Bert. “He was quoting his book, wasn’t he?”
“Book?” said Bert, puzzled. “Was that in the book? No.” He shook his head. “It’s an old game he played with Laura Glue’s grandfather, when they were young and could still bear each other’s company.
“In the Archipelago, navigating by the second star to the right—the North Star—makes you sail in a circle. You never get anywhere except where you already are.”
“Who is Laura Glue’s grandfather, anyway?” asked Charles.
Bert looked at them all in surprise, as the clouds began to close about the ship. “Didn’t Jamie tell you? He probably figured that as Caretakers, you already knew.”
“I think I do,” said John, “but it
Laura Glue’s eyes widened and she gave him a lopsided grin. “For really and truly?”
“For really and truly.” Jack nodded.
She looked at Jamie, who also nodded. “More than anyone knows, my dear girl.”
“And if you need it to be,” added Jack, “it can become another world altogether. It can take you wherever you want to go, for as long as you want, and in an instant, it can bring you back, as if no time had passed at all.”
“Wowww…,” said the girl with a yawn. “How do I make it work, Jack?”
“That’s easy,” Jack told her. “Just close your eyes, and dream where you want to go, and suddenly, you’re there.”
“But I do that anyway,” Laura Glue said, leaning back and closing her eyes.
“Yes,” Jack replied as he closed the door, all but a crack, on the drowsing girl. “But here, you’ll always come home. And here, someone will be watching over you. Always.”
“All ready, Jack?” said John.
“Ready. Are we all loaded?”
“Just done,” called Charles from the window. “Jamie’s given us a few stores from his larder, and Bert is anxious to get back tostart looking into this. Although,” he added, “I think he’s greatly relieved that we’re coming with.”
“Was there any doubt?” said John. “Even under these circumstances, now that the opportunity’s here, I find I can’t wait to get back.”
“Same here,” agreed Jack.
Bert’s face, upside down, appeared in the window. “All aboard, lads. It’s time to go.”
Farewells were said to Jamie, and each of them looked in quietly on the angel sleeping soundly in the wardrobe. Of them all, only Jack had noticed that before she fell asleep, Laura Glue had carefully sealed her ears with plugs of beeswax she had had tucked in her tunic.
With Jamie steadying the rope ladder from below, the companions ascended it and climbed into the carriage of the reborn Indigo Dragon .
“It sounds like she’s purring,” Charles exclaimed.
“That’s the engine driving the props,” said John, looking around in awe. “I do kind of miss the old masts and sails, though.”
“Magic lets you skip a lot of steps,” Bert said, “but that doesn’t mean one can completely disregard principles of engineering.
“Ladder up? Good, good,” he continued. “Let’s be off, then.”
“Remember,” Jamie called from the window below, “to get there, just look for the second star on the right….”
“That’s not funny,” Bert replied. “Farewell, James.”
“And you, Bert,” Jamie called back, waving. “Tell your daughter I hope she will not think too ill of me in the future.”
With a final wave, Bert spun the wheel, and the Indigo Dragon whirled about and began to rise into the night air.
Below them the lights of London spread out like glittering pebbles in a dark pool. Everything was edged in a cool light from the rich moon hanging above. And in the distance, clouds had begun to gather. In moments they would be passing into another world. Somehow it seemed less eventful to be doing it in the air, instead of on the more physical surface of the water below.
“That last joke Jamie made,” John said to Bert. “He was quoting his book, wasn’t he?”
“Book?” said Bert, puzzled. “Was that in the book? No.” He shook his head. “It’s an old game he played with Laura Glue’s grandfather, when they were young and could still bear each other’s company.
“In the Archipelago, navigating by the second star to the right—the North Star—makes you sail in a circle. You never get anywhere except where you already are.”
“Who is Laura Glue’s grandfather, anyway?” asked Charles.
Bert looked at them all in surprise, as the clouds began to close about the ship. “Didn’t Jamie tell you? He probably figured that as Caretakers, you already knew.”
“I think I do,” said John, “but it
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