Tim To The Rescue



Can you believe this beauty was pulled from the library?  I love this book, as I love all the Tim books.  I bought a few reprints for Christmas, with clean, crisp pages and stiff, new dust jackets.  Beautiful books, really, they are.  But there's something about the old books.  The originals, with sepia tinged pages, finger smears, and history.

This copy, as I've mentioned is a library withdrawal.  Because it still has it's pocket pasted in, and the catalogue card, I had the pleasure of explaining to Pippi how libraries functioned in the olden days.  "Was that when people drove wagons and cooked on fire boxes?" she asked.  Cute kid.

So, Tim.  We originally bought the Tim books for Tommy, but Pippi is the one who requests them over and over.  They are more to her liking, I must admit.  No burps, farts, or food pepper these stories so Tommy's not much interested.  My boy, my boy. 

In Tim to the Rescue, we find our young hero staring moon faced out the window

longing for adventure on the high seas.  He bids his parents adieu and finds his great friend Captain McFee, the old sea captain.  He and the captain leave the landlubbers behind and board the S.S. Fidelity of 3000 Tons.

The first person Tim meets on board is Ginger, a tall red haired boy with a chip on his shoulder and a curled up fist.

"Soon the ship sets sail, and Tim and Ginger lean on the rail and watch as they move slowly down the wide river to the open sea."

After awhile, Ginger, a "lazy and mischievous boy" goes to the Third Mate's cabin with a message.  The Third Mate is a "very bald and rather vain" man, and his cabin is filled with bottles of "different coloured hair growers."

Remember that bit about Ginger being a bit mischievous?

Guess he just couldn't help himself. 

And of course, this is the result.  Captain McFee is not pleased.  Everywhere Ginger goes, roars of "Get that boy's hair cut," meet his ears.  Seaman Bloggs, the ships barber, wears his fingers to the bones trying to keep up with the red mop.  And eventually, Ginger succumbs to shame, hiding in a life boat.

Then, things go from bad to worse.  The sky grows dark and an "oily swell" puts the ships crew in danger.

The crew is ordered below deck, an order that Tim disobeys, willing to sacrifice his life to save that of a surely vagabond.

Does Tim rescue Ginger?  Do ship and crew hold together through the storm?

In keeping with my signature cliffhanger style, I won't spill my secrets.  But I will tell you that the words spoken by Captain McFee upon hearing of Tim's bravery, brought tears to my eyes.