ADVENTURE ON OCRACOKE ISLAND; CHAPTER 4: DANGER LURKING IN THE DARK AT SEA (FOURTH OF 14 PARTS)

The story so far: Delia's mother appears with a message for her daughter. She says there is something Delia will have to do something important but frightening and that she will always be there to guide her. Late in the night, after her mother is gone, there is an explosion outside. It is so strong that it breaks the glass in Delia's window.

Aunt Hetty ran down the hall to Delia's room. She flung the door open. She wore a plaid wrapper and her feet were bare.

"Delia!" she called. "Are you all right?" She rushed to the bed and took Delia in her arms.

"What is it?" Delia cried. "What's happening?" Her voice shook.

Grandpa stood in the doorway in his bathrobe, holding a candle. "Tell her," he said. "She'll find out soon enough." Then he turned and went out.

A cold wind and icy raindrops blew in through the broken window. The trees outside dipped violently in the gale.

Aunt Hetty said, "Come into my room, honey." She wrapped a blanket around Delia and led her down the hall. "Wait here while I go shutter your window," she said. "We'll clean up the glass in the morning."

Delia sat on the bed in Aunt Hetty's room. The windows were cracked, but not broken like hers. She heard Grandpa moving around in his room directly across the hall. Then she heard him pounding quickly down the stairs. A moment later, Aunt Hetty padded down the stairs after him.

"Daddy!" Aunt Hetty called out from the kitchen. "Please! Don't go out there!"

Aunt Hetty closed the kitchen door but Delia could still hear them.

"Hetty, you know I have to!" Grandpa shouted. "Maybe I can help."

"Daddy, you'll get hurt!" Aunt Hetty pleaded with him. "Let the Coast Guard take care of it."

"They need what help they can get," he said. "I still got two hands, don't I? They ain't much use, but surely they can do something.'" He stomped out the front door onto the porch.

Delia stood and looked out the window of Aunt Hetty's room.

Aunt Hetty ran onto the porch and called after Grandpa: "Be careful!"

From the window, Delia saw him hurrying down Howard Street into the darkness. In his heavy coat and rain hat and boots, he leaned into the wind and walked as fast as his stiff legs could go. He carried a flashlight and had a rope looped around one arm. He headed toward the harbor and disappeared.

In the distance, through the trees, the lighthouse slowly flashed its beam. It was the only light in the thick, velvety dark.

Delia stood at the top of the stairs and waited. Aunt Hetty came back in and crossed her arms around herself.

"Where's Grandpa going?" Delia asked. "What's wrong?"

Aunt Hetty frowned and trudged up the stairs. She put an arm around Delia and led her back into the bedroom.

Together they sat on the bed. Aunt Hetty slipped on a pair of socks that lay on the rug. She glanced at the ceiling, then she folded her hands and took a deep breath.

"There's something terrible happening here," she began. "I didn't want to tell you for fear of frightening you." She explained that the war had come to the Outer Banks, within sight of the islands. "There are German submarines out there right now, sinking ships," she said.

"Germans? Here? In America?" Delia asked.

"Yes, honey," Aunt Hetty said.

"Is that the noise I heard?"

"I'm afraid so," aunt Hetty said. "Sometimes it's not that bad. But that one was close."

"Are people being killed?" Delia whispered.

Aunt Hetty lowered her head. "Yes, honey," she said. "But not always. Sometimes they survive. The Coast Guard helps rescue them, and so do people here. People like Grandpa try to help" She stopped. "People do what they can."

Delia remembered hearing President Roosevelt on the radio after the news about Pearl Harbor in December. "What does President Roosevelt say?" she asked.

"Nothing!" Aunt Hetty said. She wrung her hands. "We've been waiting for instructions from the government, but we've had no word. They don't seem to understand how bad it is. The ships have been sinking for two months and nobody seems to be doing anything about it."

Delia had a sick feeling in her stomach. "Are they American ships?"

Aunt Hetty nodded. "All kinds of ships."

"My daddy's ship from Norfolk. Do you think?"

Aunt Hetty put her hand on Delia's knee. "I don't think so, honey. His ship is probably far away by now." But she looked worried.

"What can we do?" Delia asked.

Aunt Hetty shook her head. "Not much, I'm afraid. But you must be careful on the beach. In truth, I'd rather you didn't go there at all."

She pulled back the quilt of her bed. "I think you should sleep here tonight," she said. "Grandpa will fix your window tomorrow. Now try to get some rest."

Delia saw that her aunt's hands were shaking. "It's so cold. Feels like we might have snow." She kissed Delia on the forehead. "I think I'll make myself a cup of tea, honey. You go to sleep and I'll come up later."

She dimmed the lamp and went out.

Delia lay down and listened to her heart pound. This must have been what Capt. Haskell was talking about, she thought. And it was worse than any old ghost of a dead pirate.

Delia heard Aunt Hetty moving around downstairs. It sounded like she was sweeping broken dishes.

A long time passed, and finally it was quiet. Aunt Hetty still had not come up to bed. Delia slipped out and peered down the stairway into the living room.

In the candlelight, she saw Aunt Hetty sitting in a rocker, sipping her tea. A Bible lay open on her lap. But she wasn't reading it.

She was watching the door.

Next week: Chapter 5: A Pony Leads the Way.