They watched as enormous dumb waiters, carrying coal, moved sedately up one side of the tower on thick cables. There were long tubes winding around and sucking up water from the Mediterranean, filtering and siphoning, destined for the great ships that docked far above but tapped all the way along by workers and inhabitants. Rue remembered reading somewhere that the Maltese Tower had a dedicated side business in the salt trade.

Percy guided The Spotted Custard forward gingerly, heading for a port on the nearside. The Custard seemed to be going rather fast.

“I should prefer it, professor, if we didn’t actually crash into the Maltese Tower,” said Rue.

“Yes, captain, I guessed as much.”

The Spotted Custard sped up as she caught a breeze.

“Percy!” said Rue, voice rising.

“Everything is in order, captain.”

Rue lifted the speaking tube. “Cut the boilers, please.”

“Anything for you, mon petit chou,” Quesnel’s warm voice acknowledged the command. Rue was decidedly relieved it wasn’t Aggie.

She added, “Once we’re docked, please come up for a discussion on the matter of shore leave.”

“It would be my pleasure,” replied Quesnel.

Rue replaced the tube with the feeling that her engineering staff was doomed to be a problem, one way or another.

Percy toggled the switch that reversed the propeller to the sound of triple flatulence. The Spotted Custard stuttered, jerking to a slower speed, almost sedate. They glided in and nosed up next to one of the spatulas, subsiding into stillness with one final tremendous ptttttt noise.

“Not the most dignified of arrivals,” commented Primrose.

Percy snipped at his sister: “I thought the point was not to crash.”

“You did very well, Percy, on that front. And I would appreciate it if you were consistent in this matter,” praised Rue.

Percy looked at her sideways to see if she were humouring him and then subsided onto a nearby deck-chair in a funk.

Quesnel appeared above deck mere moments later. The ubiquitous smudges gave him a rakish look which Rue wished didn’t suit him quite so much. It was horribly annoying of him to look dashing. She ignored his smudgy adorableness. He cocked his head at her engagingly.

With Prim and Percy already close at hand, Rue called the meeting to order. “Let everyone under you know, please, that we will be departing from the tower in exactly one hour. Staff and crew are allowed to explore, but they’d better be back in time. Of course, security measures must be taken to protect the Custard, so half the personnel for each station must remain behind. I don’t care how you make the decision of who’s allowed leave but you had better make it fast. Also, one of our command chain should remained behind.”

Not unexpectedly Percy said, “I’ll stay.”