Danger Dan Spooks the Peculiar Peranakan Pirate Page 2
“Oh, qwigglepuff!” said Melody huffily. “You haven’t even heard the problem we have yet and you want to create more problems!”
“I thought that’s the problem! That Raffles made a fake Sultan sign the treaty!”
“CAN YOU STOP CALLING HIM THE FAKE SULTAN? And that’s not the problem! That is history! That’s how Singapore was founded by Raffles!” Melody took a deep breath to calm herself down. “When I tried to return to the future after we had fixed the national anthem the last time, I encountered the same problem. I couldn’t return because another event in history had been changed again! Just like the last two times.”
“So what’s been changed this time?” asked Danny.
“In this altered version of history, pirates hijacked the ship smuggling Sultan Hussein into Singapore and they threw all the passengers overboard,” explained Melody. “Because Sultan Hussein never made it here, the treaty was never signed. Raffles never set up a British port in Singapore—”
“See? See? Serves him right for cheating!”
“GGGNNNNNHHH! You qwirklehead!” Melody gripped the branch she was on. “This is very serious! If Raffles never founded Singapore, then Singapore never became a British colony. The Dutch took over and we became a DUTCH colony!”
“What does that mean?” Danny didn’t know anything about the Dutch. He only knew Dutch Lady chocolate milk.
“That means instead of saying ‘one, two, three’, we’ll be saying ‘een, twee, drie’! You’ll be playing voetball, not football! And one of our tourist attractions will be Windmills by the Bay!”
“Whaaatt?” Danny was horrified. He had enough problems writing English compositions. He couldn’t imagine having to write them in Dutch. “But that’s—” He was interrupted by a piercing scream from Melody.
“EEEEEEK!”
“What? What?” he asked worriedly, wondering if the sea gypsies had returned.
“Bird!” Melody shrieked in terror. Danny turned to look at where she was pointing. A brown mynah had perched on the branch just above them and was eyeing them curiously.
“It’s just a little bird, Melody,” said Danny, mystified. To his utter astonishment, Melody started waving her arms vigorously at the mynah which simply cocked its head, unflustered.
“Go away! Shoo! Leave me alone!” Melody was rocking the branch so violently that Danny grew alarmed. “Don’t shake the tree!” he cautioned. “We’re going to fall! Melody? Melody? Stop that!”
The tree trembled. The bark splintered. The branch jerked downwards. Danny’s eyes widened with dread.
The branch they were on snapped. Melody and Danny fell from the tree and hurtled towards the ground.
Thankfully, the grass and leaves beneath the tree cushioned the children’s fall but Danny was furious. “What was that all about?” he shouted, rubbing his elbow. “What a silly thing to do!”
Melody sat up sheepishly. “Sorry. It’s just that I’m a little afraid of er…birds.”
“Birds?” Danny couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re afraid of a little BIRD?”
“It’s perfectly normal, okay?” said Melody defensively. “People are afraid of different things! I just don’t like birds. They’re creepy. They…they…flaff too much. It’s not my fault the sea gypsies didn’t understand my phobia.”
“Wait a minute,” said Danny suspiciously. “You never told me why they were chasing us. Did you do something to them?”
“It wasn’t my fault!” objected Melody. “I just wanted to ask them if they knew anything about the pirates but when I went up to a houseboat, I got scared by a white heron. So I tried to er…shoo it away.”
“Shoo it away?” Danny remembered Melody’s hysterical gestures up in the tree. “More like you went cuckoo! So what happened?”
“Well, I knocked into those two women and they dropped some fruit into the river.”
“Some fruit?” Danny wrinkled his brow. “That doesn’t sound so bad. Why would they chase you with sticks?”
“Er…” Melody paused awkwardly and looked down at her feet. “Actually it was a whole basket of fruit…that they meant to sell for money. And maybe a couple of pots.”
Danny gaped at her. Melody was usually so calm and confident. He didn’t expect her to freak out over something so silly. He thought she was different from other girls but it looked like he was wrong after all. “You’re crazy! All girls are crazy!” He was still mad as his butt hurt from the fall.
“Girls are not crazy!” Melody flared up. “You’re afraid of stuff too! The last time we time-travelled, you were so afraid of a tiny cockroach! Boys are such babies!”
“Cockroaches are scary! Birds are not!” insisted Danny. He started to chant, “Boys are best, girls are dumb!”
“What?” Melody was enraged. “That doesn’t even rhyme!”
“It doesn’t have to rhyme!” declared Danny. “It’s true! Boys are best, girls are dumb!”
“YOU!” Melody was beside herself. “You are the most infuriating, insulting, insufferable—”
Danny stuck his fingers into his ears. “La-la-la-la-la-la-la! I can’t hear you! Boys are best, girls are dumb!”
“OHHHH!” Melody stormed off in a huff. Danny watched Melody pick up a fallen mango and sit beneath a tree. She peeled the mango neatly and began to eat it. Danny suddenly realised that he was hungry too.
Ordinary mangoes don’t cut it for Danger Dan. But no matter, he has ample nourishing food supplies in his kit! He retrieves his kit and removes one precious tin from it, holding it up triumphantly for Gadget Girl to see. Gadget Girl ignores him. She’s just too proud to admit that she isn’t as prepared as he is. Eventually, Gadget Girl will see the error of her ways and grovel at Danger Dan’s feet. And the merciful Danger Dan will generously offer her a scrap of meat. Boys, after all, are best.
Danger Dan rubs his hands together in gleeful anticipation. He proceeds to open the tin and… stops. His heart sinks. No! It can’t be. He empties the contents of his kit. It’s not here! Oh no!
Danger Dan has forgotten the can opener!
Danny stared at the tin in his hand, his earlier feeling of triumph quickly turning to dismay. It hadn’t occurred to him to bring a can opener. He bashed the tin against a sharp rock but only succeeded in denting the tin. He snatched up a stick and furiously jabbed the top of the can but it barely made a scratch.
Melody raised an eyebrow at him, looking amused. This made Danny even angrier. He flung the tin against a tree in frustration.
The tin caved in at the middle and was damaged beyond recognition. Still, it remained stubbornly sealed.
“Aaarrggghh!” Danny plopped himself on the grass and sulked. Forget the luncheon meat. He opened his jar of peanut butter and used his finger to dig right into the creamy, crunchy goodness. Peanut butter really was the most delicious thing on earth.
After eating many fingerfuls of peanut butter, Danny became very thirsty. The peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth and in between his teeth. He reached for his water bottle…only to find it missing.
“Nooooo!” He had taken out the water bottle from his bag to make room for the peanut butter! Worst. Day. Ever.
Meanwhile, Melody had finished eating the mango. She daintily licked the juice from her fingers and picked up a coconut. “Hmmph!” snorted Danny. “I’d like to see her open that.”
With a flourish, Melody removed a little pink gadget from the pocket of her Forever Kool air-con jacket. “Oh! I wonder if my Laseray will come in handy,” she announced in an unnecessarily loud voice. Danny knew she was just showing off in front of him.
Melody pointed the tip of the Laseray at the top of the coconut. A thin red beam of light shot out.
As she drew a circle around the top of the coconut, the laser easily sliced through the coconut’s thick husk. Despite himself, Danny was
impressed. It reminded him of the movies he loved to watch, where burglars used high-tech laser cutters to break into banks.
When Melody had finished, the Laseray emitted a small wisp of smoke. She held the coconut up for Danny to admire. “Whatever would I do without my Laseray!” she said dramatically and removed the top of the coconut. The Laseray had cut a nice, neat hole. She sipped the coconut’s cool, refreshing juice. “Aaahhh…” she sighed. “Qwintastic!”
Danny could stand it no longer. His mouth was dry and his throat was parched. Reluctantly, he walked towards Melody who smiled sweetly at him. “What happened to your luncheon meat?” she asked.
Danny scowled. “I’m not hungry.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. So you’re thirsty, then?” She picked up another coconut from the ground and used the Laseray to cut a hole in it. She offered it to Danny. He greedily reached out for the coconut but Melody pulled it away at the last second. “Wait,” she said. “First, admit it: girls are smarter.”
No! How could Danny give in to such blackmail? That would be letting all the boys in the world down! But the thought of a refreshing coconut drink was too much for him to bear. He swallowed his pride and mumbled, “Fine, fine.”
“What’s that?” asked Melody “I can’t hear you.”
“Okay! Girls are smarter! Happy?” Danny felt completely humiliated. Melody beamed and handed him the coconut. He snatched it and drank thirstily from it.
When he had drained the fruit of its juice, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Girls aren’t very nice, though,” he muttered to himself.
“What did you say?” asked Melody sharply.
“Nothing! Nothing!” said Danny hastily. He changed the subject. “So what’s our plan? How are we going to make sure the treaty for the British base gets signed?”
“We could try to stop the pirate ship from attacking Sultan Hussein’s ship,” said Melody. “This way, the Sultan can come to Singapore safely like in actual history.”
Danny’s eyes lit up. “We’re going to stop an entire pirate ship? That sounds like a real adventure! How do we do that?”
“I’m not sure yet,” admitted Melody. “We’ll figure something out. Maybe we can cut the sails. First, we have to find out where the pirates are. I think there’s a fishing village near the mouth of the Singapore River. We can try asking around there.”
The two of them walked towards the coast, navigating the mangrove’s thick vegetation and kicking up mud and soil along the way. It was frightfully hot and humid. Danny glanced enviously at Melody who was looking cool and comfortable in her pink air-con jacket, as always. They pushed past a tall bush—and stopped dead in their tracks.
Standing in front of them were the two ferocious sea gypsies from before!
Melody gave a squeal of fright. “Eek!” She turned as if to start running again. Danny, however, didn’t move.
Danger Dan is tired of running away! He is going to end all this nonsense once and for all. His sharp mind instantly comes up with an ingenious plan. Taking a bold risk, he kneels down on one knee and presents his peace offering—a magnificent jar of Heavenly Spread!
One of the women stopped in front of Danny and eyed the jar of peanut butter curiously. What was this new-fangled thing? Noting her puzzled expression, Danny helpfully opened the jar. The woman carefully took it, sniffed the caramel-coloured contents and stuck a finger into the mixture, before putting it in her mouth.
To Danny’s relief, the woman grinned with obvious delight and made lip-smacking noises. Her companion followed suit. Happily snacking on the peanut butter, the women gave Danny a friendly wave and walked away.
“I think you may have messed up history by introducing peanut butter before it was invented,” pondered Melody.
“What’s life without peanut butter? I’m just spicing things up for them!” stated Danny. “At least they won’t chase us any more.”
“That’s true,” said Melody. “Come on, let’s keep going. We need to get to the fishing village.”
After a while, they emerged from a clearing and arrived at a beach. They walked along the shore, hoping to find a few fishermen. Many were out at sea catching fish, their boats bobbing in the distance.
The children walked up and down the stretch of beach to no avail. Melody was about to give up when she spotted a few men wading in the waters near the shore. They carried spears and nets.
Melody and Danny waded into the water towards one of the men. “Excuse me, Uncle…” Melody began.
“You’re disturbing the waters!” said the man agitatedly. “Go away! Can’t you see we’re busy?”
Hastily, Melody and Danny returned to the shore. “Well, that was quite rude of him!” said Danny indignantly. “What’s he doing, anyway?”
“He’s holding a net, Danny!” said Melody. “What do you think he’s doing? He’s fishing, of course. They’re all fishing. Maybe if we help them catch some fish, they will be more willing to talk to us. I can use my grappling hook watch as a fishing line.”
They left the sandy beach and climbed onto one of the many large rocks nearby. The rows of rocks extended from the shore out to the shallow waters. It was a good fishing spot. Danny looked down and watched the blue waves lap at the base of the rock border. It was peaceful and the sea breeze was cool.
Melody and Danny kept their eyes peeled for any sign of movement beneath the water. Soon, a little splash caught their attention.
“Melody! Melody! There’s something over there!” cried Danny, pointing to the ripples in the water. A small wave came rolling in, revealing a dark shadow under the surface. “Quick! Catch it!”
Melody pressed her watch’s purple button and a silver grappling hook shot out. As she pressed the button again to retract the line, the grappling hook returned with nothing but a few strands of slimy seaweed. MISSED!
“That watch is wasted on you!” exclaimed Danny in exasperation. “Give it here!” Melody removed her watch and handed it to Danny.
The water’s surface ripples vigorously as the dark shadow glides in the shallow water. Danger Dan aims the compact cannon at the mysterious fish. He kneels down to brace himself for any resistance the creature might put up. He positions his finger on the trigger.
Danny was just about to press the purple button when Melody noticed an ominous fin emerge from the water. She gave a start. “No, Danny! It’s a shar—!”
But it was too late. Danny had already released the grappling hook. It flew straight through the air like an arrow. With perfect precision, it gripped on to the shark’s fin.
The shark thrashed about violently in the water. Danny tried to reel it in, but the shark was too strong. It was like a game of tug of war gone horribly wrong. Danny almost lost his balance and Melody grabbed his shirt to stop him from falling into the water.
“SHARK!” screamed Melody. “It’s a shark!”
“Yikes!” yelled Danny. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’m going to let go!”
“NO! Don’t you dare lose my watch! It’s the 21st edition! The best one yet!”
“But it’s a shark! H-E-L-P!”
The commotion attracted the attention of the nearby fishermen who ran over. Some held on to Danny while the rest grabbed hold of the line. “One, two, three! PULL!” commanded one fisherman. Everyone gave a huge tug.
A grey shark emerged from the water and the fishermen pulled it onto the rocks. It flounced around wildly for a long while before finally surrendering to its fate.
A fisherman removed the hook and everyone stood back to examine the shark. It was thin and streamlined with small, cunning eyes. Its fin had a distinctive black tip. Even though it was nothing like the great white sharks Danny had seen in TV documentaries, it was still the largest sea creature he had ever come face to face with. From head to tail, the shark was almost as long as Danny!
“This is the blacktip reef shark we’ve been trying to catch!” said one fisherman happily. “It has been eating and chasing away
all the small fish and crabs. Now fishing will be much easier around here.”
Another fisherman clapped Danny on the back. “Great catch! You’re a Boy Hero!” All the other fishermen made a fuss over Danny. “You must come to our village. We’ll cook you a nice meal.”
Danger Dan is the champion fisherman! The giant shark will no longer terrorise the villagers. Danger Dan has saved them all! The villagers are indebted to him.
Two fishermen hoist Danger Dan up onto their shoulders. “Make way for Danger Dan!” they shout as they carry him through the jubilant crowd. Danger Dan gives a celebratory wave to his adoring fans.
Melody followed the group, grumbling, “It was MY grappling hook watch!” But nobody paid any attention to her.
They walked along a narrow dirt trail and came to a small Malay village. There were many simple attap huts with thatched roofs. A few chickens roamed the area, casually pecking at the sand. Danny noticed that Melody took special care to avoid them. Walking past the attap huts, the group eventually came to a house that was significantly larger and fancier than the others.
“This is the home of our village chief,” a fisherman told Danny. A man dressed smartly in a loose-fitting green shirt and trousers descended the steps.
“Temenggong, this boy caught the shark!” said the fishermen, holding up the enormous creature.
The village chief held out his arms and took Danny’s hands. “Thank you, Boy Hero!” he said heartily. “I proclaim today a day of celebration!” He put his arm around Danny’s shoulders and was about to lead him into his home when Danny felt a tug at his sleeve. “Psst! What about me?” asked Melody urgently. “Ask him if I can stay!”
“Can my friend stay?” Danny asked the chief, pointing at Melody. The chief glanced at Melody haughtily and waved his hands. “Yes, yes. She can go with the womenfolk. You come with me now, Boy Hero.”
The shark was cleaned and sliced. Coconut milk and chillies were used to season the chunks of shark meat. The meat was barbecued on a spit over an open fire until it was crispy and slightly charred at the edges. Plates of food were brought into the Temenggong’s home and served to him and Danny on a long table.