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the witch’s cauldron.

CHAPTER NINE
    â€˜You mean the shark’s a robot?’ Thomas exclaimed.
    Ben nodded. ‘It guards the submarine. It’s got some kind of movement sensor. It only saw me when I moved.’
    â€˜So you need to get rid of the shark before you can get into the submarine,’ Tim said.
    Ben gulped. He had not actually thought that far ahead. He thought of the sleek, sinister lines of the submarine and said, ‘And what about the Viperfish? We need to get him out of the submarine too!’
    â€˜Yeah, then we could throw a net over him, or something,’ Tim said.
    â€˜There’s an old net over there on the rocks. We could use that,’ Thomas said.
    â€˜Good idea!’
    â€˜How are we meant to get him out of the submarine?’ Meg wanted to know.
    Ben’s mind was skipping ahead quickly. ‘Well, he’s already caught one mermaid, hasn’t he? Bet you he wants more. That’s why he’s still lurking around here. Why don’t we lure him out by making him think he can catch another mermaid?’
    â€˜I could dress up in my mermaid outfit and sit and comb my hair on the rocks and sing,’ Meg said, looking very pleased at this idea.
    â€˜It sounds too dangerous,’ Thomas said. ‘I don’t want him catching Meg too!’
    â€˜We’ll have to have some kind of decoy,’ Tim said. ‘I wish we had another mer-boy’s tail.’ He could not help being envious of Ben.
    â€˜I’ll call Delphina,’ Sechiel said. ‘I can swim out holding on to her fin.’
    â€˜You’re still too badly hurt,’ Meg said. ‘You’ll never be able to hold on.’
    â€˜What about me?’ Tim said hopefully. ‘Couldn’t I swim out with her? If you explained I was a friend?’
    Sechiel nodded his head reluctantly. ‘I suppose that’d be all right.’
    â€˜Fantastic!’ Tim did a dance of joy.
    â€˜That shark’s awfully fast, Tim,’ Ben said. ‘We don’t want him catching you. I think we need twodecoys, moving back and forth, so the shark gets confused and doesn’t know which way to go.’
    â€˜I guess that’d better be me!’ Thomas cried.
    â€˜We need you here on the shore to help Meg throw the net over the Viperfish,’ Ben said. ‘It’s heavy – it’ll take at least two of you to lift it.’
    â€˜Yes, we need someone big and strong and hairy!’ Thomas flexed his muscles.

    â€˜But what about the second decoy?’ Meg asked.
    â€˜I’ve got an idea for that,’ Ben grinned. ‘Give me your mermaid doll!’
    â€˜What for?’ she demanded.
    Ben chuckled. ‘You don’t really want to know.’
    A few minutes later, Meg hobbled out from behind a boulder wearing her mermaid dress. The boys hoisted her up onto Lookout Rock, where she sat with her glittery green tail spread over the stone, combing her short blonde hair and humming out of tune. The others hid and watched.
    The submarine’s black watchtower slowly emerged from the sea, water cascading away. Slowly, slowly, it rose, then a trapdoor opened and a man dressed in a black wetsuit clambered out. He stood staring at Lookout Rock, binoculars held to his eyes. Meg tossed her blonde hair and sang a little louder.
    â€˜Right, he’s taken the bait.’ Ben slid down into the witch’s cauldron. The tide was rising and so it felt rather like being thrust into a washing machine. Frothy water churned all round him and he bobbed up and down, trying not to get knocked against the rock walls. ‘Wish me luck!’
    â€˜Be careful!’ Tim cried as Ben dived down into the deep, black, churning water of the witch’s cauldron and disappeared.
    â€˜I’ll call Delphina now.’ Sechiel drew a small triton shell out of his seaweed pouch and put it to his lips. He blew and a high, mournful, eerie noise rang out. Again