Zeke called out, “Fang! I know you don’t mean to sneak up on people, but goddamn.” Then, to Rector, he said, “Fang ain’t got no tongue, so he don’t talk. He’s the first mate on the Naamah Darling.” Turning back to the first mate, he said, “Princess Angeline is calling an underground meeting, down over at Maynard’s.”

Fang nodded, then mimed looking at a pocket watch.

Zeke understood. “When? Now, pretty much. I think. Hey, you seen my mom around? Or the captain? Anybody you want to tell, tell ’em right away. After we spread the word around the fort, we’re heading down to the saloon ourselves.”

Fang began to sign with his hands, but changed his mind and instead held up a finger, asking the boys to wait. He walked over to the lean-to. When he returned, he had a pencil and a piece of paper. Upon it, he wrote, I’ll tell Kirby. Your mother is inside the ship. Knock first. Loudly, and handed the paper to Zeke.

“Knock first? Well, all right. Come on, Rector—one more message to pass along, and then I’ll show you Maynard’s. You’ll like it, I think.”

Rector had a feeling that unless the saloon sold sap by the pound, he could take it or leave it … but Zeke’s enthusiasm was such that he sat back and let the kid run with it, all the way over to the big, bobbing hull of the Naamah Darling, which was tethered to the old totem pole.

Forgetting Fang’s note, Zeke rushed up to the ship and seized the hatch that would let him inside.

Rector, getting an inkling of what Fang’s note meant, reminded him. “Hey, you saw what Fang … said. Maybe you should—”

“Knock, oh yeah—that’s right.” He struggled with the hatch, which didn’t want to release. “Ain’t I making enough racket, though? What’s wrong with this thing, anyhow?” He gave the hatch a whack with the back of his hand, then scanned the ground for something heartier to hit it with. Not seeing anything, he made a fist and punched at the hatch while hollering, “Mother, Fang said you’re in there. I need to talk to you real quick. It’s important! Mother?”

And the hatch dropped violently open. It was all but flung to the ground, snapping back against the underside of the ship with a clang before settling into the usual position. But it wasn’t Briar Wilkes scowling down from the ship’s interior.

Captain Cly did not look happy.

“Important?” he said, his voice carefully controlled within his mask.

“Well, yeah…” Zeke said. “Took you long enough to answer the door. Were you in the back?”

Rector put his palm to his forehead.

“Fang said Momma’s in there. I’m looking for her, and you, too,” Zeke continued, clueless as could be.