Ben and Zane signed up for an adventure. "Pirates, swag, booty, what more

could you ask for?" They buckled their swashes and went to the address

posted on the quest board. It was a dock on the outskirts of town, and

rather than a house, a boat, or a houseboat, there was a whale. It opened

its mouth and out came two creatures. One, a fresh-faced little boy, and

the other some disfigured wretch wearing galoshes. "Here," he said, his

voice gnarly enough to warp a mizzenmast, "he's all yours." The

Cartoncasters looked after the child for a day of tiresome lollygagging,

but there was no whale to return him to in the evening. Tossing him into

the murky waters, they agreed that things would probably work themselves

out.