instructed. Septimus marched up and down, looking
at them sternly. “This voyage is going to be a VERY
LONG one, and I intend to keep you all busy on
this ship.”
Geez! Who
wants to see that
horrible thing?
I heard
that,
Donkey!
Scr
ub
Scrub
Ignoring the lion, Septimus continued with his
lecture. “In fact, we will start with SCRUBBING
this filthy deck! Everyone grab a bucket and brush.
QUICKLY! I want it so clean and shiny I can see
my FACE in it!”
Farewell,
old friend!
Julius polished the rotten wooden deck as hard as
he could, but he was nowhere near getting anything
like a shine on it. “This is pointless!” he gasped. “My
arms will fall off before we see Septimus’s ugly mug
on this deck!”
Felix leaned over to Julius. “Milus was right: this
isn’t a vacation! This is WORK!” he whispered. “I
think I would rather have stayed at gladiator school!”
As they all furiously
scrubbed away, the ship
pulled out of Ostia.
It’s SLAVERY,
is what it is!
I’m not doing
THIS the
entire trip!
Plop!
Lucia and Rufus inched over to see what everyone
was whispering about.
“Are you all moaning about doing these dumb
chores?” asked Lucia very quietly, peering over her
shoulder to make sure Septimus wasn’t looking.
“Yeah, you could say that!” huffed Julius, struggling
to keep his voice down.
Felix plopped his brush into the bucket of soapy
water and straightened his stiff back. “I’m pretty sure
Cornelius shuffled over to join in the grumbling.
What’s
going
on?
Put your
BACKS
into it.
GULP!
Yikes!
HEY! You haven’t got
time to sit around
CHATTING!
“In fact,” roared Septimus, “you can all give me
fifty jumping jacks!”
“WHAT?” blurted Felix, getting up on his hooves.
“Did your mom take you on vacation to boot camp
or something? This is RIDICULOUS!”
vacation means going away and having a nice time,”
he whispered. “And I can tell you now, I am definitely
NOT having a nice time —”
That
expla
ins
a
lot
about
that
bully.
You’re
telling
me.
Finally they all flopped to the floor, exhausted. “All
I can say,” wheezed Julius, “is that this tournament
had better be worth it!”
“Fear not, Julius,” Cornelius announced. “I have
seen a sign that our fortunes are favored by the gods!”
Julius rolled his eyes. Here we go again! he thought.
Cornelius and his la-la superstitions.
“Yes she DID, actually,” replied Septimus,
smiling fondly. “Best days of my life.” He thumped
Felix on the shoulder. “YOU can give me an extra
fifty jumping jacks for being a wise guy.” Then he
disappeared toward his cabin.
See how the
wind blows in
from the east?
Cornelius then pointed to Felix, who had accidentally
kicked over his bucket of water. “And see how water
has been spilled? To spill water when the wind blows in
from the east is a sure sign that Neptune, god of the sea,
wishes us well on our voyage!”
“And a sure sign that Felix is a clumsy half-wit,”
growled Milus.
Suddenly, Septimus reappeared on deck.
“UH-OH! Watch out!” said Julius. “Look busy!”
The warthog pointed to the big sail fluttering
above them.
Let’s see
exactly how
hard you’ve
been working!
He must have
good eyesight.
see is wet
wood.
Septimus paced up and down, scrutinizing the
sparkling deck.
“Well?” Julius called out. “How did we do? Can
you see your glorious face now?”
Septimus spun around and glared at the cheeky
zebra. “All I see, Donkey, is a bunch of USELESS
DEADBEATS!”
AAIEE!
My eye!
Bo
ink
!
“Here’s your dinner. Take these biscuits down to
the hold, where you’ll find your sleeping quarters. I’ll
see you back on deck AT THE CRACK OF DAWN.”
And he marched back to his cozy cabin.
Julius and his companions wearily pulled
themselves up and headed toward the wooden ladder
that led below deck, trailing stale biscuit crumbs
behind them.
Septimus marched over to the exhausted animals.
“You’ll have to do better than this tomorrow, beasts.
The empire won’t tolerate a filthy ship.”
From a knapsack he tossed small brown biscuits at
the animals.
EURGH!
This place is
soaked!
He squinted into the murkiness and could just make
out piles of broken jugs and rotted crates from voyages
past. As he edged forward, his face was suddenly
tangled up in what felt like a huge cobweb.
CHAPTER FIVE
STINK HOLE
As they clambered down the slippery ladder, they
found a gloomy, very stinky hold. Julius jumped down
the last few steps, only to splash into a big puddle.
ARR! The spiders
have got us, too!
We’re
trapped!
AAIEE!
Help!
I’ve
been
captured
by spiders!
The others came rushing over to rescue their
stricken friend. “Don’t panic, Julius!” called Cornelius.
“We’ll save you!” But the more they tried to pull Julius
free, the more everyone got twisted up in the web.
It’s
not
a
cob
we
b,
you
foo
ls.
It’s
a
ham
mo
ck!
“A hammock? What’s that?” asked Julius.
“What does it look like?” said Milus, lounging back
comfortably. “It’s a BED!”
“A BED?” cried Julius, befuddled. “How
EXCITING!” He pulled the net off his friends and
smoothed it out with his hooves. “Anything’s got to
be better than those rotten sleeping cells back in
Rome!” He laughed as he leaped into the air, expecting
to flop onto his strange new bed. But instead he fell
From behind them came a low, growly laugh.
Actually,
I take that
back.
As he pulled himself up and wiped muddy water
off his bottom, Julius let out a big sigh. “I’m not sure
I can put up with these traveling conditions.”
Cornelius tentatively pulled himself up onto a
hammock, which seemed to hold his weight as it
swayed with the rocking ship. “Hadrian thinks we’re
all People’s Champions, but I think we’re being
treated pretty badly, don’t you?”
right through the threadbare net and straight into the
big puddle on the floor.
I have A PLAN!
She signaled to Rufus to check whether any
Romans were listening from above. The giraffe poked
his head up, then gave the all clear. The crocodile
gathered everyone into a huddle.
“I tried to warn you!” said Milus. “These Romans
are rotten to the core!”
“But what should we do?” asked Julius. “We’re
the PEOPLE’S CHAMPIONS! We should not be
scrubbing floors!”
Lucia suddenly put up her claw. “Do not fear, my
friends,” she whispered, beckoning them to come
closer.
I’m still itching
after your last
escape plan!
Scr
atc
h!
S
c
r
a
t
c
h
!
“There’ll be no mustaches — I promise,” replied
Lucia.
“But we will be wearing brightly colored checked
pants again, right?” asked Felix. “I thought I looked
PRETTY spiffy in those fancy pants last time.”
Lucia shook her head. “Sorry, Felix, no fancy
pants, either.”
Felix let out a big HUFF and kicked a clay pot.
“Before you start,” interrupted Cornelius, “just so
you know, I’m NOT wearing a stupid mustache.” He
scratched his nose.
Nobody
say a
word.
“What’s the plan then, Lucia?” whispered Julius,
rubbing his hooves together with anticipation. “Spill
the beans!”
“Check this out!” she said, and from her knapsack
she pulled out some very fine chain mail. “Rufus and
I were poking around down here, and we found a
whole stash of this stuff!”
“This is DEFINITELY the worst vacation I’ve ever
been on!” He sprang grumpily into his hammock,
which flipped him over and dumped him onto
the floor.
W
e’
re
d
re
ss
in
g
up
as
FI
SH
!
In fact, I
think there’s
enough for
ALL of us.
“Enough? Enough for what?” asked Cornelius
suspiciously. “Are we dressing up as soldiers and
FIGHTING our way off the ship?”
“Nope!” said Lucia as she began wrapping herself
in the chain mail.
We’re all
going to die,
aren’t we?
Uh ...
Right.
“FISH?” everyone echoed in unison.
“Yes!” replied Lucia proudly. “This might not look
like much at the moment —”
“You can say THAT again,” growled Milus.
“BUT,” she continued, ignoring the lion, “once
Rufus and I have finished making the costumes, we’ll
all dress up as FISH, sneak up on deck, and JUMP
into the sea!”
Cornelius was not impressed. “This has to be
the most RIDICULOUS idea I’ve EVER heard!” He
tugged at Lucia’s chain mail. “As soon as Septimus or
one of the other Romans hears a big splash, they’ll
look overboard and see us fools swimming around.”
“EXACTLY!” chimed in Rufus. “But they won’t see
US. . . . They’ll see FISH!” He held out his hooves as
if he’d just performed the most amazing magic trick.
Hmmm...
You know
what?
I actually
think this
could work.
“It IS pretty shiny and slippery, just like fish scales,”
he said, holding it up to the light. “Maybe it’s worth
a shot!” He turned to the others. “Come on! Do you
want to be scrubbing moldy decks and doing jumping
jacks all the way to Britannia?”
Lucia looked at the blank faces around the room.
“And then we swim away and get FREE!” she added
enthusiastically. “Don’t you see? The chain mail looks
like shiny fish scales! It’s an AWESOME plan!”
Julius jumped up and had a good look at the chain
mail for himself.
We can have
the longest
vacay EVER!
The
n
let’s
dres
s
up
as
FISH
and
SWIM
to
the
near
est
beac
h!
“OK, I’ll do it,” said Felix. “But only if I can be a
halibut.”
Julius patted him on his shoulder. “You can be
whatever fish you want.”
Felix jumped up and punched the air with his hoof.
“Then I’m IN!” he roared.
Julius turned to Cornelius. “And you?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“NO. I just wanted a nice vacation like they
promised,” wailed Felix.
What? You
expect me to stay
on this boat with
THIS GRUMP?
Hey!
“I’m coming, too!” said Milus. “It’s a stupid plan,
but I’m not hanging around on this lousy ship.”
“Then it’s decided!” declared Julius. “We’ll help
Lucia and Rufus make the costumes, and we’ll make
our escape as soon as the sun rises!”
Wakey
wakey,
everyone.
Time to
get this
show on
the road.
CHAPTER SIX
GONE FISHING
“WAKE UP, YOU DEADBEATS!”
Septimus’s voice boomed down the hatch. “TIME
TO GET UP AND SCRUB THOSE DECKS!”
Julius rubbed his tired, bleary eyes with his hooves.
They’d been up all night making fish costumes, and
now they had to put their plan into action.
I’ll have my costume
in my bucket!
“As soon as Septimus and the crew go to look at all
you ‘fishes,’ I’ll throw this on, then dive in after you,”
said Julius. “OK!” He bundled his fish costume into
the bucket. “Are we all ready?”
“We’re going to need a distraction,” said Julius.
“I’ll go up on deck and pretend to scrub. I’ll keep
Septimus chatting while you all jump in the sea.”
“But what about you?” asked Cornelius. “Aren’t
you coming with us?”
Nearly.
Hold on!
Hey
! Have
I got your
costume?
Ready!
This is
huge!
Yep!
“Don’t forget,” said Julius as he climbed the ladder,
“wait till I’ve got Septimus talking before you jump
overboard!”
He scampered up the ladder and out onto the deck,
whistling innocently. He waltzed over to the far end
of the boat and started pretending to scrub the deck.
Septimus stormed over to him. “WHAT’S GOING
ON, DONKEY? WHERE ARE THE REST OF
THE LAZY BEASTS?”
“That’s our cue, lads!” whispered Lucia, and they
sneaked up the ladder and out onto the deck.
I can’t see
where I’m
going!
Be quiet!
This way.
Hurry!
Is it all in
the wrist or
the elbow?
Scrub!
?
Sc
ru
b!
Septimus looked furious. “What are you babbling
about, Donkey? I have no time for this nonsense!”
Behind Septimus there was a sudden shrill scream.
Julius kept Septimus talking to distract him.
A
A
IE
E
!
“WHAT IN JUPITER’S BEARD . . . ?”
roared Septimus. He dashed to the side of the ship
and saw a strange mass of figures thrashing about in
the water.
“MAN OVERBOARD!” came the cry from the
helmsman.
Septimus leaned over for a closer look. “Those aren’t
men! THAT’S A CROCODILE, A WARTHOG,
A GIRAFFE, A LION, AND AN ANTELOPE!”
Having hastily put on his fish disguise, Julius
flip-flapped to the side of the boat. “Wait! Surely
they’re FISH!” he cried. “See their shiny scales?
Is that . . . a GIANT HALIBUT? Best let them go,
Septimus!”