| Presents Hawaiian Cruise Part 1 |
| The loud speakers rang out through the clear air on a bright sunny morning "The Wheaten Princess, embarking now for HAWAII - LAST CALL! ALL VISITORS ASHORE"! There arose a crescendo of applause and wild cheering as the gangway was lifted and, after casting off, the ship began to drift out from the Wharf. Excited faces peered from portholes, and there was a burst of colour as streamers broke and were whipped in the wind. Waving arms on deck faded into the distance as the tugs guided the big cruise ship safely out of the harbour. IT HAD BEGUN! THE SECOND CRUISE OF A LIFETIME! |
| This was the second Cruise the Wheaten Princess was making to far away, romantic places. The first had been to the exotic Caribbean. This one was heading to Hawaii, the jewel of the Pacific. The passengers were a varied combination of rich tourists, youngsters seeking excitement, beautiful single ladies, some famous actresses travelling incognito, a group of playboys and, as always seemed to be the case on cruises, a few shady characters up to no good! The Ship's Crew included the traditional Gypsy Fortune Teller, as well as a brilliant band and singers. It promised to be an exciting voyage. What no one knew at this time was that there were kidnappers on board, as well as some other doubtful characters. The kidnappers were two nasty human types who had stolen a pup of distinguished pedigree from his distressed owners, and intended to sell him at a high price to some people in Hawaii. The Captain had not yet received this information, and by the time he received the wire from the police, asking him to keep a watch out, the ship had already sailed. This would be a job for the ships two detectives, KODI and CLANCY. They were discussing this matter with Captain DILLON in his cabin a few hours after the ship had embarked. Captain Dillon sat on a comfortable sofa in his cabin, and invited Kodi and Clancy to join him there. Kodi and Clancy had worked at the Police Department in LA before accepting a position on the Wheaten Princess. Both were very experienced detectives. Captain Dillon cleared his throat and began: "Gentlemen, I have just received a wire form the LAPD informing me that a couple of kidnappers may be on board. They stole a valuable Wheaten Puppy from his owner and it is believed that they intend to sell him in Hawaii." Kodi was visibly upset. "A little kid?" he asked in astonishment. "Yes," replied Dillon, "A 10 week old puppy." Clancy lowered his head and cursed. "Scum!" He growled. "Just let ME at them!" |
| It was decided they should check the passenger list for all people who were travelling with a puppy. But what if the puppy had not been listed as a passenger? What if he was being concealed? They would perhaps have to conduct a cabin search, and that would take a very long time! Passenger lists were checked immediately, and sadly, there were no puppies listed. It would have to be a cabin search. The pup must have been sneaked aboard in hand luggage. This was not going to be an easy task. They set off, wondering how to begin. People would not be happy having their cabins searched. That was for sure. Meanwhile, passengers were getting acquainted with the ship and what it had to offer. Some members of the football team had met up with some teenagers who were exploring the top deck. They had one important thing in common - to have a good time! They were seated in the deck lounge, and some glamorous ladies were nearby. DASHER, BUSTER and KRAMER, who belonged to the "LA Battlers", chatted happily to DAKOTA, BAILEY and MAX. Max was a very handsome Poodle - and already he was checking out the girls. He might have been smaller, but what he lacked in size, he made up for in confidence! The glamorous ladies were in fact famous actresses travelling incognito. They were MISS KYSHA, who was the lead lady in 'Gone With the Wheatens'; MISS MADDIE, who starred in the Australian drama, 'Terriers Down Under'; MISS NELLY, who had just finished her latest show on Broadway, 'The Sound of Barking' and MISS ROSE, the star of the thriller, 'Night of the Terriers'. They were all wearing sunnies, and wondered how long it would be before someone recognized them. |
| Settling into their cabin were two characters who were getting very concerned about some missing luggage. "WHERE IS IT?' demanded GRIFFIN, giving his companion, SYDNEY a freezing glare. "How would I know" Sydney protested. "YOU were supposed to see that it came on board safely!" |
| "If it got left on the wharf, you and me are in deep trouble!" Griffin whined. "What are we gonna tell the boss guy when we hit port if we don't have the stuff?" he said as he paced the floor nervously. Sydney shrugged. He seemed deep in thought for a few minutes, then he said in a brighter tone: "Why don't we check at the Purser's Office - tell them some of our luggage hasn't arrived at our cabin, and ask them where it's got to. It might have gone to the wrong cabin by mistake. "Well," said Griffin, "If it has I hope nobody's opened it!" Sydney shook his head. "Even if they did, all they'd find would be stuffed dog toys. They wouldn't think to cut any of them open, now, would they?" Griffin sniffed and scratched his ear. "Spose not," he reluctantly agreed. "You go and ask the Purser then, - and you'd better pray that the box isn't lost!" So Sydney left the cabin and made his way down to the Purser's Office. _______________________________________________________ The two 'dumb blondes' of the cruise were looking at a box that arrived at their cabin. (It just so happened that they had the cabin opposite to the one occupied by Griffin and Sydney.) TESS was quite excited about it and thought it was a gift someone had left for them - perhaps a secret admirer? She picked it up and shook it, trying to guess what might be inside. SNICKERDOODLE was equally excited. "Hurry up and open it, Tess!" she exclaimed. "It has our cabin number on it, but it doesn't have a name" observed Tess as she turned it over and checked it out. "Well then, if it has our cabin number it must be meant for us, so let's open it!" Snickerdoodle said firmly. Tess picked at the sticky tape and lifted the lid to peek inside. She gasped in delight, "Oooh! It's full of cute soft toys. How nice!" They both lifted out one toy after another. There were stuffed bunnies, teddy bears and other cute animals. Tess cuddled one pink bunny to her heart, saying: "This is my favorite. I'm going to call it 'Thumper'!" Snickerdoodle selected a yellow teddy, saying that she would call it 'Buttercup'. Tess giggled. "That sounds like a cow!" and ducked Snickerdoodle's playful kick. They decided that they would keep their two favourites, and save the rest for some little children they knew back home. They wondered who the kind person was who had sent them such wonderful gifts. |
| BRODY and RYLE were on their first trip away from home and they sat quietly in their cabin, trying to pluck up courage to go to one of the bars in the hopes of meeting some nice girls. They'd never had a girlfriend, and had always been too shy to talk to girls their own age. Their parents hoped that a cruise would 'bring them out of their shells' and give them some self-confidence. When they came aboard, they had looked wistfully and longingly at the many beautiful girls around them, but they just 'lost their tongues' when it came to speaking to any of them. Oh, how terrible it was to be shy and bashful! They only had to have a girl LOOK at them, and they blushed from their eyebrows to their whiskers! It was SO embarrassing. In the cabin beside them were two pretty girls. They had watched them go inside and they thought they were the prettiest girls they'd ever seen. If only they could pluck up the courage to talk to them! _____________________________________________ KILLIAN and LEXI were both shy girls. They had decided to take the cruise together to broaden their horizons - so to speak. Now, they sat in their cabin looking out of the window as the coast of the US gradually faded from view. They felt a little scared, and Lexi had a tear in her eye. "Oh, Killian, I do hope we haven't made the wrong decision in coming on this cruise. I feel so homesick already!" Killian put an arm around her friend and whispered gently: "Don't worry Lexi, everything will be fine when we get into the swing of things." Lexi smiled through her tears and nodded her head. "I'm just being silly. I'm sure I'll fit in with all those other fine looking girls who seem to be such experienced travellers." Killian was about to reply when there was a weird noise in the nearby bathroom. They both froze on the spot and gazed fixedly at the bathroom door. "What was THAT?" hissed Lexi in alarm. "Someone is IN there!" Killian picked up a hair brush and advanced slowly towards the door - brush raised to strike at whoever, or whatever the uninvited guest might be - then, with one swift movement, she pulled open the door...... THEY BOTH SCREAMED! Before them, looking as scared as they were, was a boy - or was it a boy?! The 'vision' came towards them, 'floating in the air', and 'it' spoke in a shaky voice, pleadingly: "Oh, oh dear. Oh dear! I've frightened you - I'm so awfully sorry - really I am - I mean no harm, honest, - please, oh PLEASE don't be afraid?" |
| Meanwhile, Sydney had returned from the Purser's office with disturbing news. There was no other luggage to go to them, so it had to have found its way, accidently, to someone else. Sydney and Griffen were in a state of panic. To drown their misery, they took off to 'Tucker's Tavern' and ordered some stiff drinks. There were already four dogs there, and it was obvious they were rich playboys with plenty of cash to throw around. Sydney and Griffen envied them. It now appeared that they would never be rich and, further more, if they did not recover the package, their very lives would be in grave danger. They kept topping up their drinks until Sydney, who did not have a strong stomach or head for alcohol, was beginning to look the worse for wear. This was only the first day of the cruise, and it had brought them disaster, and no doubt a terrible hangover the next morning! |
| Suddenly their cabin door burst open and two boys came charging in, looking like they were ready to fight off an intruder. "Are you OK? We heard you scream!" cried one of the boys. They stopped dead when they saw what the two girls were looking at, their jaws dropping open in astonishment. "HOLY SMOKE!" gasped on of the boys. "A GHOST!!!" |
| What followed was something of a circus. Girls screaming; boys shrinking back in shock, and one trembling 'ghost figure' retreating towards the bathroom and looking more scared than the other four put together! Finally the two boys sat down with the two girls and discussed a suitable course of action. They introduced themselves as Brody and Ryle, from the cabin next door. They lowered their eyes when speaking to the girls, and Killian noticed they were blushing. "How sweet," she thought, "Boys who are actually 'girl-shy'! Ryle recovered his confidence and said: "I think the way to proceed with this is to approach this - er - ghost, or whatever it is, in a friendly manner." "Exactly," agreed Brody, trying to look masterful. "I think we should try to speak to him." Killian looked at them with admiration. "Yes," she said. "Let's try." The 'ghost' sensed their fear had abated, and he peeked from the bathroom door and managed a shakey smile. Clearing his voice, he said softly: "Hello, my name is Tobey. I'm so sorry I scared you all. I just wanted to be friends with you!" They all said 'hello' and introduced themselves. Killian asked: "What are you doing here on the Wheaten Princess? Are you the ship's ghost?" Tobey shook his head and they were astonished to see tears fall from his big brown eyes. "No," he replied, wiping the tears away with a paw. "I desperately need help, and I can only get it in Hawaii." He rushed on quickly adding "And I can't do it on my own. I need some real living dogs to help me!" His audience were gazing at him with rapt attention, so he went on urgently, "Oh please, WILL YOU HELP ME?" "We will if we can," replied Brody, "but how can we possibly help you, Tobey?" What followed was an amazing, and tragic story. Tobey told them about a wicked witch who had cast a spell on him when he had made the mistake of chasing her cat. She had turned him into a ghost, and the only way to break the spell was for him to locate a tribe of natives in Hawaii who possessed a magic shark-tooth pendant. When he had the pendant, he had to put it around the neck, and some mortal dog had to recite a special formula that would release him from the curse and make him a normal dog again. "What is the special formula?" asked Lexi. Tobey looked troubled. "I don't know it, but this tribe's shaman uses it in ceremonies to protect against evil spirits, - so we have to find the tribe, and the shaman, and get hold of the shark-tooth pendant too!" Killian rubbed her paws together. She loved a mystery, and this sounded like a great adventure to undertake, and a thrilling mystery to solve. She was all for it! "We'll help you!" she exclaimed with great enthusiasm. Lexi agreed, and the two boys looked at each other for a second, then assured Tobey of their assistance also. Tobey's face lit up with a smile, and he knew he had found some good friends. The shy boys and girls suddenly realized that they too had made good friends, and they felt grateful to Tobey for bringing them all together. What was needed now, was a plan. ____________________________________________________ The ship's notice board drew the passengers' attention to some interesting events to take place over the next few days. ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS! Captain's 'Welcome Aboard' Cocktail Party To be held in the Fun Lounge tonight at 6pm before the first sitting for Dinner. Dress: Formal. Come along and meet Captain Dillon! __________________________________________________ Announcing - a Ballroom Dancing Competition to be held in the Grande Lounge on Saturday Night. All Competitors must apply to the Pursers' Office by 10pm tomorrow night. The winning partners will receive $100 spending money each. _____________________________________________________ Other activities available are SCUBA DIVING CLASSES And for your entertainment we have a Gypsy Fortune Teller on board who will be available, at a reasonable fee, to look into your future and reveal all those hidden mysteries you would like answers to! Consultation by appointment only. (Phone Cabin 333 to arrange for a reading.) Your friendly Entertainment Officer, JIMMY. _________________________________________________ Later that day, several hopefuls gathered at the Purser's Office to enter for the Ballroom dancing competition. Among them were ABBY and her partner BAILEY BEACHBOY; - LACEY O'QUINN and her partner, HENRY; - STELLA and her partner FENWAY, and the two shy girls, KILLIAN and LEXI, and their partners, the two shy boys, BRODY AND RYLE, who were wondering what they'd got themselves into! |
| THE 'WELCOME ABOARD' COCKTAIL PARTY Captain Dillon was a fine gentleman and greeted the passengers with warmth and friendliness and made them feel immediately at home. The actresses were the first to arrive, and they were elegantly dressed for the occasion. No attempt was made this time to hide their identities! |
| The ship's officers all looked dashing in their uniforms, and everyone seemed to have a great time. |
| People got to know each other and it was a happy group of travellers who eventually made their way to the dining room for dinner. It had been a good start to the cruise for all - except poor Griffin and Sydney, who felt as if their days were numbered. Hopefully, before they reached Hawaii, they'd find their missing piece of luggage and all would be well. END OF PART ONE. |