The Adventures of Tintin Page A

around the model?” Tintin pointed to the slight waviness of parts of the model ship in the picture. “It means Ben Salaad exhibits it behind bulletproof glass.”
    “And Sakharine is going there to steal it!” Haddock said, finally getting the picture.
    “He has a secret weapon: the Milanese Nightingale,” Tintin said, even though he didn’t know what kind of weapon the Milanese Nightingale was. He had the faintest beginning of an idea but not enough to be certain of anything. “But that won’t be enough to solve the mystery, and that is why Sakharine needs you. That’s why he took you prisoner! There is something he needs you to remember.”
    “I don’t follow you,” Haddock said. Tintin could see his fingers starting to search his pockets for a bottle.
    “I read it in a book. Only a true Haddock can discover the secret of the
Unicorn
.” Tintin looked at Haddock, and Haddock looked at Tintin.
Come on, Captain
, Tintin thought. Snowy whined and nudged Haddock’s knee.
    “I don’t remember anything about anything,” Haddock said eventually.
    “But you must know about your ancestor Sir Francis!” Tintin said. “It’s your family legacy!”
    Haddock was now definitely patting his pockets. “My memory isn’t what it used to be.”
    “What did it used to be?” Tintin asked.
    “I’ve forgotten.”
    Frustrated, Tintin was silent for a while. He was trying to work things out in his head, but he was also imagining how great the story would be when he finally got it. The secret of the
Unicorn
! What he needed at the moment was to motivate Captain Haddock, break him out of his self-pity—remind him what he was good at.
    But what was he good at? As far as Tintin could tell, Captain Haddock was so far gone into his bottle that he had lost his ship, his family history . . . everything.
    What did a man like that have left?
    Tintin wasn’t sure, but he knew he’d have to figure it out or else Sakharine would get the third
Unicorn
and they would never solve the mystery. Tintin refused to let that happen; he had his teeth into this mystery now, and he would not let it go. He would row to Bagghar himself if he had to . . . if he only knew which way to row.
    Aha
, he thought.
Captain Haddock may be full of self-pity, and he may be a little too fond of liquor, but he is still a seaman
.
    “Captain,” Tintin said, “can you get us to Bagghar?”
    He deliberately asked the question in a tone of voice that made it clear that he didn’t think Captain Haddock could do it. Reverse psychology!
    And it worked. “What sort of a stupid question is that?” Haddock exploded. “Give me those oars. I’ll show you some real seamanship, laddie.”
    He moved toward Tintin and picked up the oars, flipping them over his shoulder as he kept shouting. “I’ll not be doubted by some pipsqueak tuft of ginger and his irritating dog. I am master and commander of the seas!”
    This is working perfectly
, Tintin thought. Then Haddock pivoted on his heel, heading back to his end of the boat, and as he turned, the oars over his shoulder swept around and knocked both Tintin and Snowy out cold. They slumped in their seats and Haddock kept up his rant. “I know these waters better than the warts on me mother’s face! Every wave of them is like a compass needle. The secrets of the deeps are mine and mine alone!”
    He planted himself on one of the rowing benches and slapped the oars into the other set of oarlocks. “Look at the pair of them, fast asleep!” Haddock said. “Typical landlubbers. No stamina these days. Never mind, I’ll get ye there, Tintin.”
    It felt good to row, thought Captain Haddock as he dug the oars into the water. They would be in Bagghar in no time, and then they would see about that third model
Unicorn
and this Sheik Whatshisname. Tintin would see that Captain Archibald Haddock was not a man to trifle with.

    Back home, Thompson and Thomson rarely had a day that they looked forward to as much as this one.