to go. Your German friends have made rather a mess of our ship."
"I'm not German."
"No, you're Austrian. But the Germans are your allies, are they not?"
Alek didn't answer. The woman was just guessing.
"And what would a young Austrian be doing so high in these mountains?" she continued. "Especially now, in wartime?"
He stared at Dr. Barlow, wondering if it was worth trying to reason with her. Though she was a woman, she was also a scientist, and the Darwinists worshipped science. She might have power on this ship.
"It doesn't matter why I'm here," he said, trying to use his father's tone of command. "What matters is that you have to let me go."
"And why is that?"
"Because if you don't, my family will come to get me. And believe me, you don't want that!"
Dr. Barlow narrowed her eyes. The ship's officers had only laughed at his threats. But she was listening to him.
"So your family knows where you are," she said. "Did they send you here?"
He shook his head. "No. But they'll guess, soon enough. You don't have much time to let me go."
"Ah ... time is of the essence." The woman smiled. "So your family lives nearby?"
Alek frowned. He hadn't meant to give that away.
"Then I suppose we must find them, and quickly." She turned to Dylan. "What do you suggest, Mr. Sharp?"
The young airman shrugged. "I suppose we could follow his tracks backward in the snow. Maybe bring a present for his ma, so there are no hard feelings."
Alek shot the boy a cold look. It was one thing to be betrayed, but quite another to be mocked. "I was careful with my tracks. And if you do manage to find my family, you'll only get yourselves shot. They hate strangers."
"What unsociable people," Dr. Barlow said. "And yet they hired English tutors of the highest caliber for you."
Alek turned back to the porthole and took a deep breath. Once again his speech and manner were giving him away. It was infuriating.
The woman continued, amused that he was upset. "I suppose we shall have to use other means, Mr. Sharp. Shall we introduce Alek to the young Huxleys?"
"The Huxleys?" A smile spread across Dylan's face. "That's a brilliant idea, ma'am!"
Alek stiffened. "Who are they?"
"A Huxley isn't a who, you ninny," Dylan said. "It's more of a what, being mostly made of jellyfish."
Alek glared at the boy, certain he was being mocked again.
They led him through the ship, a busy warren of slanted corridors and strange smells. The other crewmen hardly glanced at Alek as they passed, and his only guards were Dr. Barlow and Dylan, who looked as skinny as a rail. It was all rather insulting. Maybe the creature Tazza was more dangerous than they'd admitted.
Of course, running was pointless. Even if he found his way out of the ship, his captors had taken his snowshoes, and he was already half frozen. He wouldn't last an hour on the glacier.
They went up a spiral staircase that was tilted, like the rest of the ship, at a precarious angle. The smells grew stranger as they climbed. Tazza began to sniff the air, hopping on his hind legs along the slanted floor. Dylan came to a halt beneath a hatch in the ceiling and stooped to gather the beast into his arms. He climbed up through the hatchway, disappearing into darkness overhead.
As Alek followed, he sensed a huge space opening up around him.
His eyes adjusted slowly. The high, curved walls were a mottled translucent pink, and a segmented white arch stretched overhead, the air heavy with unfamiliar smells. Alek realized how warm he was, and the truth hit him.
"God's wounds," he murmured.
"Brilliant, isn't it?" Dylan asked.
"Brilliant?" Alek's throat closed on the word, a sharp taste in his mouth. The segmented arches around him were a giant spine! "This is ... disgusting. We're inside an animal!"
Suddenly the tilted walkway beneath his feet felt slippery and unstable.
Dylan laughed, turning to help Dr. Barlow up through the hatch. "Aye, but the skins of your zeppelins are made of cattle gut. That's like being inside an animal, isn't it? And so's wearing a leather jacket!"
"But this one's alive!" Alek sputtered.
"True," Dylan said, heading down the metal walkway with Tazza. "And being inside a dead animal is much more awful, if you think about it. You Clankers really are an odd bunch."
Alek didn't bother answering this nonsense. He was too busy staring at his feet and staying in the exact center of the walkway. It was tilted