After the Chief had finished his tale and every belly was full, he took the Widow and Mr. Klemmens on a tour of the village. Together they spent a solid chunk of the afternoon walking along the hanging rope bridges, sharing stories, eating food, meeting villagers and just generally having a good time. When the sun finally began to dip towards the horizon, the Widow Sabishane thanked the Chief for his hospitality and asked for directions back to the beach. Sad to see the Widow and Mr. Klemmens go, the villagers all lined up by the mysterious stone gate and waved them a heartfelt goodbye.
Atushka performed his ritual on the stone and when they had all opened their eyes they were back in the clearing of the jungle. "How do you do that Atushka?" asked Mr. Klemmens curiously "I must admit, I am very intrigued." The short, dark-skinned man looked up at Mr. Klemmens with his big brown eyes and smiled. "Magic!" he said, as he threw back his head and released a rumbling bout of deep laughter. "And to think, I was just starting to like you." replied Mr. Klemmens. Atushka's laugh turned into a high-pitched giggle as he bounded over to the large Somali cat, picked him up with surprising strength and hugged him tightly. "You are a good man, for a cat." said the Chief cheerily. "Take care of de young lady." The Widow Sabishane smiled warmly as she knelt down to the tiny man and embraced him. "Thank you Atushka. I will be thinking of you and your people, wishing for a safe return for the ones whom you have lost. I truly hope to see you again before I leave this world." Atushka blinked back his own tears and kissed the Widow on the hand before bowing to her. "You are most welcome Madame. And do not worry, de Spirits tell me I will see you again soon. Now, sail carefully and keep a lookout for de gray ship. You will know when you spot it, for it will fill de entire horizon." As the two friends walked away, the great Chief's smile slowly turned into a deep frown. He looked out towards the ocean and breathed in heavily. "I understand de order of life, but I will still be sad to see her go."
The walk back to the rowboat was relatively silent as Mr. Klemmens and the Widow were both thinking heavily about the Apuwashi tribe and the situation they were in. As soon as they had reached the boathouse the Widow stomped her feet hard and spun around completely. "There!" she said relieved, "I've just left all of the bad energy right here on the deck. Mr. Klemmens, if you would be so kind, please do the same and then sweep that portion of the deck for me will you?" As Mr. Klemmens hoisted himself up over the deck he smiled at her. "Of course Sabishane...Let's right ourselves and finish this day out in happiness." As he did this, the Widow secured the halyard to the head of the sail and began to hoist it up into the air. When it was all the way to the top, she tied the remaining line around a cleat on the mast and took hold of the helm.
The Widow Sabishane looked out over the water and smiled as she ran her wrinkled old hands over the smooth wheel of the helm and sucked in the salty air as hard as she could. As she let it all out she gave the wheel a strong clockwise spin before grabbing it sharply and holding it perfectly still. "Where are we going Sabishane?" Mr. Klemmens called out as he climbed up the ladder that lead to the crow's nest. The Widow Sabishane smiled and called up to him "Wherever the wind takes us my friend!" And as if she had called upon it herself, the wind came suddenly and powerfully. It surged westward, filling the giant sails that were tied to the large mast in the center of the deck and began pushing the boathouse forward with great speed. The Widow flicked a tiny switch behind the steering wheel and a few moments later music filled the air as an invigorating Flamenco guitar began playing out over the loud speakers.
As the slowly setting sun shined down upon her and the old Victorian boathouse sailed over the wide blue yonder, the spray of the ocean kissed the Widow's wrinkled old face. She smiled delightfully as the wind wiped around her, cooling her skin just as the sun began to make it sweat and enormous waves crashed against the walls of the huge Victorian house as it sailed along, its barnacle-covered bottom sloshing in and out of the water as the ocean raised and lowered the ship. They had sailed just a few miles out from Apuwashi when Mr. Klemmens began shouting, "Land ho Sabishane! Land ho!" The Widow quickly picked up her monocular from the brass mount just below the helm's steering wheel and extended it as far as it could go. She held it up to her right eye as the blood-orange sun glinted off its shiny surface. Narrowing her eyes she saw a large dark mass far out on the water and her heart sank. "That's not land Mr. Klemmens!" the old lady shouted. Mr. Klemmens squinted his own eyes, pulling out a large pair of binoculars he rarely had cause to use. "Well what in heaven's name is it?" he called below. The Widow Sabishane frowned as she bent her head back and looked upwards at the crow's nest where Mr. Klemmens stood watch. "It's a ship, a war vessel." Mr. Klemmens finally gave in and brought the binoculars up to his face, quickly adjusting the focus. "Oh." was all the talking cat could say.
Stretching from one end of the horizon to the other, was a massive ship. Its hull was a dull gray metal, which Mr. Klemmens guessed was a combination of steel and iron. He saw huge towers pouring out thick clouds of steam and metallic cogs that turned one another as they sat, sporadically jutting out from what looked like the deck of the ship. "A steam-powered ship of that size is impossible." he heard himself say. Yet there it was, with thousands of flags fluttering in the wind from hundreds of poles across it's deck, each one bearing a different emblem. Some were large and impressive with fire and dragons or skulls and swords, others were adorned with fancy gold lettering or a coat of arms and looked to be made of expensive silk, while even more flags hung lower on the poles and were torn and ratty looking, often bearing a modest sigil. What he saw last was the most terrifying. In the broadside of the ship, were massive square outlines that could only have one thing hiding behind them. "Cannons..." whispered Mr. Klemmens to himself.
By tracking the motion of the vessel's crest in the water, Mr. Klemmens quickly noted the ship's speed and direction. "Sabishane, that thing is armed, and it's headed due north at about...about 100 knots!" The Widow snapped her head towards the crow's nest and shouted, "That's not possible, not something that large!" Mr. Klemmens continued to stare out of his binoculars. "Widow, if I'm wrong then so much the better for it. But somehow that steamship is tearing right through the ocean!" The Widow Sabishane slammed her monocular shut and squeezed it tightly. "Well then, what are we waiting for? There are Apuwashi prisoners aboard that ship Mr. Klemmens. Let us go and fetch them."
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