Heart thudding, I follow Win as he climbs out of the basket and makes his way along the top yard. My cold fingers grapple with the ropes. The sail flops down and the honey badgers pull it tight. I slip and slide to the next sail and tug at a tricky knot. But it’s no good. The Alisha is already alongside us.

Clinging to a rope, I watch as grappling hooks are thrown across the gap, followed by a net. Now our ships are locked together. Next come the orangutans. They bound easily across the net, then spread over the deck of the Bowt.

“They are fast,” says Win, his voice filled with admiration.

A scream rips through the air and we turn in time to see an orangutan flying toward us, teeth bared. I scurry sideways, but a long muscly arm reaches for me, a hand clamps down on my shoulder, and I’m yanked back. There’s no escape. The orangutan tucks Win and me under the same smelly armpit, then goes back toward the Alisha, swinging from rope to rope.

“Arthur, I know this hurts,” Win says, his elbow pressed into my face, “but this is what it feels like to be a monkey. Here comes the big one!” Our captor is picking up speed, getting ready to leap from our ship back to the Alisha. Below us, Rose and the honey badgers are being forced across the net by kicking, prodding orangutans.

Then we’re flying through the air.

“ARRGGHHH!!” screams Win. “He’s not touching any ropes! So cool, Arthuuuur!”

Down we plunge, and just when I think we’re going to smash into the planks of the Alisha’s deck, the orangutan’s fist closes around a mast and we slide smoothly to the ground.

The orangutan drops us in a heap.

“That was amazing,” says Win. “Thank you!” He attempts to pat the orangutan on the head, but it spins around and slaps him across the face with a hairy hand. “OW! That hurt!”

The orangutan laughs. At least I think it’s a laugh because it’s showing its teeth and snickering. Rose and the honey badgers are pushed into the middle of the deck and we gather in a huddle.

“We didn’t stand a chance,” I say, rubbing my stomach where the orangutan squeezed me. “They were so fast!”

Rose holds out her hand and I see a semicircle of red marks. “One bit me,” she says, her voice wobbling. “I didn’t fight back, or anything, and it still bit me. I told you pirates were bad news, Arthur!”

The orangutans are circling us, snarling at Danny and Eric, who in turn are baring their teeth and snarling back. Suddenly I realize that the sounds aren’t random acts of aggression. The animals are talking to each other, or rather yelling at each other.

“Rose, can you understand what they’re saying?”