of course, was disinclined to bathe in a castle full of men. But when Dylan didn't take advantage of the bathtub either, Alek wondered if hot water flowed freely aboard the Darwinists' airship.
Hoffman thawed a lamb over the fire, while Master Klopp and Bauer cooked a vast pot of potatoes in chicken broth, onions, and black pepper. The feast went on past dark, despite how exhausted they all were.
It was refreshing to have a lady at the table. As Alek had suspected, Dr. Barlow's spoken German was quite fluent. And Dylan somehow managed to make the other men laugh with only the words he'd picked up in one day.
As the night drew on, Alek began to wonder when next he would see an unfamiliar face. After hiding for five weeks, he'd already half forgotten what it was like to meet a new person, or to make a new friend.
What if he were stuck in this castle for years?
The next morning Alek's first steps were slow ones.
The sledge wouldn't budge at first, like a dog refusing to take a walk. But finally its runners cracked their overnight coat of ice and began to scrape along the courtyard stones.
As the Stormwalker neared the gate, Alek wondered if the sledge behind them was straight.
Master Klopp read his mind. "Perhaps I should watch out the hatch, like Volger."
"No offense, Klopp," Alek said, "but you're a bit too sturdy to stand on my shoulders."
The master of mechaniks shrugged, looking relieved.
"Perhaps Mr. Sharp can help," Dr. Barlow suggested in German. She was sitting in the commander's chair again, Tazza at her feet.
Alek agreed, and soon Dylan was halfway up through the hatch, facing backward, his boots settled on Alek's shoulders.
"At least we know the sledge fits through the door," Klopp muttered. "Since it is the door."
After a few bumps and scrapes they were out on the open ice. But dragging the sledge was still like walking through molasses. Every step set the engines groaning. Annoyingly, Dylan stayed up top, his boots bouncing on Alek's shoulders.
"Be ready to speed up a bit," Klopp said as they reached the slope leading down from the castle. "We don't want our cargo sliding into us from behind."
Alek nodded, grasping the saunters tighter. Going down the hill, the sledge would build up its own momentum.
With a metal clang Dylan dropped back down into the cabin.
"They're here!"
They all looked at him, speechless.
"To rescue us!" he shouted. "Two airships, coming over the mountains ahead!"
Alek brought the Stormwalker to a quick halt, looking at Klopp. "Cut us loose. We need to get Volger back!"
"But they'll think we're attacking."
"Wait a moment, both of you," Dr. Barlow said. "According to the captain the Air Service shouldn't be here for a week!"
Master Klopp didn't answer, leaning forward and raising his glasses to his eyes. His gaze swept the sky a moment, then fixed on a single spot, a frown growing on his face.
Alek squinted out the viewport and saw them - two dots just above the horizon. He silenced the walker, listening for the sound of the airship's engines across the snow.
"Not airbeasts," Klopp said simply. "They're the kaiser's zeppelins, coming for the kill."
THIRTY-ONE
Deryn listened to the old mechanic arguing with Alek.
She didn't have to speak Clanker to know what they were saying - she'd heard the word "zeppelin" come from Klopp's mouth. So it wasn't rescuers coming ...
It was barking Germans!
She reckoned Klopp wanted to slink back to the castle and let the zeppelins do their work. The airships wouldn't have spotted the Stormwalker yet. So once the Leviathan was destroyed, Alek and his friends could go back into hiding.
Dr. Barlow was about to join the argument, but Deryn silenced her with a hand on one shoulder, knowing exactly what to say.
"Your friend Volger's out there, Alek. Because he traded himself for you!"
"I know that," Alek said. "But it seems Volger planned for this. He made Klopp promise to keep me hidden if the Germans came."
Deryn sighed. That count was a shifty one.
Alek switched back to Clanker-talk, ordering Klopp to disconnect the walker from the sledge. It was odd how many words in German were almost the same as in English, once you'd got your ear in. For once, though, Alek wasn't getting his way. The old man folded his arms, and kept saying nein and nicht, which any dafty could tell were Clanker for "no."
And it was obvious Bauer and Hoffman would obey Klopp, not Alek, however important the boy was back in Clanker-land.