Jip says it must be where the
pirates kept their treasure. But we can't open
the door. Come down and see if you can let
us in."
So the Doctor went downstairs and he saw
that it was indeed a beautiful ship. He found
the animals gathered round a little door, all
talking at once, trying to guess what was inside.
The Doctor turned the handle but it wouldn't
open. Then they all started to hunt for the key.
They looked under the mat; they looked under
all the carpets; they looked in all the cupboards
and drawers and lockers--in the big chests in the
ship's dining-room; they looked everywhere.
While they were doing this they discovered
a lot of new and wonderful things that the
pirates must have stolen from other ships: Kashmir
shawls as thin as a cobweb, embroidered
with flowers of gold; jars of fine tobacco from
Jamaica; carved ivory boxes full of Russian
tea; an old violin with a string broken and a
picture on the back; a set of big chess-men,
carved out of coral and amber; a walking-stick
which had a sword inside it when you pulled
the handle; six wine-glasses with turquoise
and silver round the rims; and a lovely great
sugar-bowl, made of mother o' pearl. But
nowhere in the whole boat could they find a key to
fit that lock.
So they all came back to the door, and Jip
peered through the key-hole. But something
had been stood against the wall on the inside
and he could see nothing.
While they were standing around, wondering
what they should do, the owl, Too-Too,
suddenly said,
"Sh!--Listen!--I do believe there's some
one in there!"
They all kept still a moment.
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