“Can I have Smee get you something else?” he asked, but it was too late—Peter and the Lost Boys were all falling asleep on their feet, swaying from side to side. Tinker Bell flew into a tizzy trying to rouse Peter before he and the other Lost Boys fell to the deck with a great thud.

Tinker Bell flew to each of the Lost Boys trying to wake them, but they were all fast asleep. “Blasted fairy!” said James, calling out to Murphy, who was now up in the crow’s nest, waiting to throw a net down at his signal. It came cascading down, capturing Tink. She struggled beneath the net, frantically trying to get out, but it was too heavy for the tiny fairy. James still didn’t know what to do about the mermaids, but there was no time. He’d have to come up with some kind of story to explain why he left Never Land in such a hurry with everyone on board.

The men stopped their music-playing and frivolity, and positioned themselves at their posts as planned. But James ordered them to continue playing so the mermaids wouldn’t catch on that something was amiss. He looked at the iron clock, noting the time. He wanted to make sure they didn’t waste too much time before sailing off to the Many Kingdoms, to be sure Peter and the Lost Boys stayed asleep for their trip there and back again. And with the help of Tink’s pixie dust, they would get there quickly.

But then something happened he did not expect: the crocodile that had gotten Smee’s attention had been joined by a number of his brethren, and they were circling the ship. The crocodile seemed to have eyes only for James. And he knew right then that everything would go wrong.

Within moments James was surrounded by chaos. He wasn’t sure how it all happened really; there was a maelstrom of frenzy all around him, and before he knew it, the mermaids, who were curious about what was going on with the crocodiles, swam over to see what was happening. When they got wind of what James and his crew were up to, they joined the crocodiles and encircled the ship, pushing it and making it rock back and forth. James staggered, losing his footing several times as he made his way past Peter and the Lost Boys, who were still fast asleep. He finally reached Tinker Bell, who was still struggling under the net. He took the knife from his boot, sliced open the net, and reached for Tinker Bell, who bit him sharply on the hand.