CHAPTER FOURIt was as they reached the English Channel that the Captain came to where they were sitting on deck and took Nicholas to one side.
When he had left, Nicholas said to Alvita and Ivor,
“There seems to be a little trouble.”
“What has happened?” Ivor asked.
“There is something wrong with the engines and we are short of fuel,” Nicholas explained. “We are therefore going into Portsmouth to put things right and then we will continue on from there.”
Alvita felt relieved that it was nothing worse.
She was afraid when the Captain had appeared that something desperate had occurred and they might have to go back or perhaps find another ship.
Almost as if she had spoken aloud, Nicholas said,
“Now don’t you worry! It’s only a small thing that often happens and it should only take a
