by Brian James
“Waves,” I mumbled.
I was about to put it down and go back to sleep when I spied something in the distance following the Sea Rat. I took a closer look.
I couldn’t believe my eyes!
There was another ship following us. But it wasn’t like any other ship I’d seen before. It looked like it was made of fog. It was all white and a little bit see-through.
“AVAST! A ghost ship!” I shouted as loud as I could. I’d heard plenty of stories about ghost ships before, but I never thought I’d see one. “Come look!” I shouted again. My friends needed to hurry. In every story, the ghost ship could only be seen in the dark. Once the sun came up, it’d be too late.
Aaron and Vicky sat right up in their bunks.
Inna pulled open the curtain around her bed.
Gary leaped awake, too. I felt his head THUMP against the bottom of my bed.
“A what ship?” Vicky asked.
“A ghost ship,” I repeated, pointing out the porthole.
“Arrr! You were dreaming,” Aaron said and put his head back down on the pillow.
“No way! I saw it!” I said. “A real live ghost ship. The sails looked like they were made of fog! So did the deck and the cabin! The whole thing was ghosty!”
Gary pressed his face to the window. “I don’t see anything,” he said.
“Aye?” I asked. I looked out the window and it was gone. Then I remembered something. “Oops!” I said. “I forgot the spyglass.”
I looked out the window again. This time I used the spyglass. It was too far away to see without it.
There it was, a ghost ship sailing behind us.
I passed the spyglass to Gary.
“Avast! I see it, too!” he shouted. “I thought they only existed in old pirate tales.”
“Aye! Me too,” I said.
“Let me see!” Vicky said. She rushed over to our bunk. Gary gave her the spyglass.
“Shiver me timbers, it really is a ghost ship,” Vicky said.
“Inna, don’t you want to see it, too?” I asked.
Inna was still on her bed. She had her blanket pulled up over her head. “No way!” she said. “Ghosts are spooky and I don’t like spooky things.”
“It’s not too spooky, I promise,” I told her.
“Let me see it,” Aaron whined. He tried to grab the spyglass from Vicky.
She pulled it back.
“Wait your turn, greedy guts,” Vicky said.
“It is my turn,” he answered.
I rolled my eyes. Those two never got tired of arguing, not even when they just woke up.
Before Aaron got to look, Vicky started waving her arms around. “It’s disappearing!” she shouted.
I took a look.
The ghost ship was becoming invisible.
“Why is it disappearing?” Vicky asked.
“Arrr! Maybe because there’s no such thing!” Aaron said.
“Is too!” Vicky shouted at him.
“It’s because the sun is rising,” I said. “Ghosts don’t like the sun. That’s what the pirate stories say, anyway.”
“Aye,” Gary said. “The stories I’ve read said the same thing.”
“But that still doesn’t mean they’re real,” Aaron said.
Vicky rolled her eyes. Then she looked at me and Gary. “We need to find out why the ghost ship is following us. What does it mean?”
“Some pirates say they’re good luck. But some say they’re really bad luck,” I said.
“Let’s go find out what the pirates on this ship have to say about it,” Gary suggested.
“Good idea. We can ask Rotten Tooth. Maybe he saw it, too,” I said. “Rotten Tooth was standing watch all night. He had to have seen it.”
“Aye aye!” everyone agreed.
We all rushed out of our quarters and headed for the deck.
Chapter 5
Whale of a Tale
Once we got to the main deck, I pointed up at the crow’s nest. The pointy ends of Rotten Tooth’s green beard were hanging over the side.
“I can hear him snoring from here,” Inna said with a giggle.
I heard him, too. “He fell asleep on the job!” I shouted.
“What should we do?” Gary asked.
“Climb up there, that’s what!” Vicky said.
“Aye!” I agreed. “We can’t wait for him to wake up. Ghost ships are serious pirate business!”
We grabbed onto the ropes and started to climb.
When we reached the top, Rotten Tooth was still asleep. And he was soaking wet! The crow’s nest was almost filled to the top with rainwater.
“Sink me! It’s like a swimming pool!” Vicky said.
“You mean, sink him!” Aaron said.
“Aye.” Inna laughed. “At least he finally got a bath.”
“Arrr,” Rotten Tooth moaned as he opened his eyes. “Be it morning already?”
“AYE!” we cheered.
Rotten Tooth covered his ears. “No need for shouting, mateys.”
“Sorry,” I said. “We’re just excited. Know why?”
“Arrr, why?” he asked.
“Because I spied a ghost ship out at sea!” I yelled.
Rotten Tooth quickly covered his ears. “QUIET!” he yelled back. “I’ve been stuck up here all night because of ye barnacles! I’m not in the mood for any of ye whale tales!”
Whale tales was pirate speak for saying he didn’t believe me.
“Aye, but it’s true!” I said. “Didn’t you see it while you were on lookout duty?”
“I’m not so sure he saw anything,” Inna whispered. “It looks like he was on snoring duty.”
Rotten Tooth growled.
Inna covered her mouth, but it was too late.
“I heard that,” he said. I thought for sure he was going to teach us another soggy lesson. But when Rotten Tooth opened his mouth to talk, all that came out was a big “A-CHOOO!”
His sneeze blew our hair back and filled the sails. I had to grab onto a rope to keep from falling.
“Now see what you did? Ye scurvy kids have caught me a cold.” He sniffled. Then he stood up. His clothes dripped into the puddle at his feet. “School’s closed today,” he announced. “I be going belowdecks for some shut-eye.”
“But what about the ghost ship?” I asked.
“Aye,” Vicky said. “Don’t we need to tell the cap’n?”
Rotten Tooth smiled as he began to climb down the rigging. “Aye, tell the cap’n. Ye will be doing me a favor,” he said. “He’ll laugh you right off the ship.”
Rotten Tooth swung down to the deck without another word.
“But what’re our orders for the day?” I hollered down.
“Arrr, your orders are to bother someone else!” Rotten Tooth hollered back. Then he entered the cabin and was out of sight.
“What should we do now?” Gary asked.
“We should try to find out more about that ghost ship,” I said. “Three of us saw it. That means it has to be real.”
“Aye, but how?” Vicky asked.
“We ask the one pirate on the Sea Rat who knows everything,” I said.
“CLEGG!” Inna shouted.
Clegg was the oldest and wisest pirate onboard. Plus, he loved to tell us stories. He helped us figure out the curse of Snake Island before, and I was sure he could help us again.
“Let’s go, buckoes!” I shouted. And we all headed off.
Chapter 6
Shipwrecked
We knew exactly where to find Clegg. He was always fishing off the back of the boat. “Maybe he spotted the ship, too,” I said. “Let’s hurry.”
“Aye! I’ll race you,” Aaron challenged. Then he took off running. Aaron always wanted to race because he was the fastest.
Plus he liked to show off.
That always annoyed Vicky.
“Last one there’s a rotten fish,” he shouted.
“You run like a sea turtle,” Vicky shouted back. “I’ll beat you fo
r sure.” Then she took off running, too.
I tried to stop them. “The deck’s too slippery!” I shouted, but they were already around the corner and out of sight.
Then we heard a CRASH!
Gary, Inna, and I all hurried to catch up. When we got to the very back of the ship, we saw Clegg holding Aaron’s arm in one hand and Vicky’s in the other.
“Ahoy! What happened?” I asked.
“Arrr, these little shipmates almost anchored themselves overboard,” Clegg said with a smile.
“Aye, we slipped and tripped,” Aaron said with a frown.
“No, you slipped and then tripped me,” Vicky argued.
“’Tis okay with me,” Clegg said. “You be the only fish I caught all morning.”
Aaron and Vicky stopped arguing and laughed. In addition to knowing everything, Clegg was also one funny pirate!
I was still giggling when suddenly Inna nudged me. When I looked at her, she was pointing out to sea. “Ghosts, remember?” she whispered.
“Aye! I almost forgot,” I said. We needed to find out about the ghost ship. “Clegg, have you been here all morning?” I asked.
“Aye. Even before the sun was up,” he answered.
“And did you see anything sort of spooky?” I asked.
Clegg pointed to his eye patch. He only had one good eye. “I don’t see much,” he said with a wink.
We all frowned.
“So you didn’t see a ghost ship?” I asked.
“Stormy seas! A ghost ship?” Clegg said with surprise. Then he shook his head slowly. “I haven’t seen one of those for a hundred journeys.”
“Saggy sails,” I said, putting my head down. “Maybe it was a dream after all.”
“Aye,” Aaron said. “I told you. There’s no such thing as ghost ships.”
“I didn’t say that, matey,” Clegg corrected him. “I said I haven’t seen one in a long time,” he told us. Then he scratched his beard. He always did that before he was about to tell us a story.
“Then you saw one once?” I asked.
“Aye,” Clegg answered.
We all made ooohhhs and aaahhhs. Even Aaron! Clegg never fibbed to us.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well,” Clegg began, “it was a stormy night and I couldn’t sleep. I was looking out the porthole. Then all of a sudden, I spied a ghost ship out on the sea. And even in the storm, it was sailing calmly.”
“Did you ever see it again?” Gary asked.
Clegg shook his head. “I only saw it once. The next night, our ship sank. I never saw another one.”
“Blimey! A shipwreck!” Vicky said. “Did the ghost ship cause it?”
“It has to be bad luck, if it did,” Gary added.
“Arrr ... I don’t know if the ghost ship caused it,” Clegg answered. “But I do know this. Ghost ships don’t let everyone see them. The legends say they only show themselves to those they’re willing to tell their secrets to.”
We all gulped!
“There is a reason ye kids were the only mates to see it. Ye must find out what it wants. I wish I had. Perhaps me ship wouldn’t have sank if I did.”
“Yikes! That sounds like an important mission,” I said. “Even more important than being the ship’s lookouts.”
“AYE!” my friends agreed.
“It is,” Clegg said. “But I believe in ye.”
We said good-bye to Clegg and headed off. We had a new pirate duty to perform.
Chapter 7
Sleepover Secrets
We stood in front of the main cabin ready to knock on the door. But nobody wanted to be the one to knock.
“What if Captain Stinky Beard is asleep?” Inna asked.
“Aye, no captain likes to get woken up,” Vicky warned.
“Aye, he might fall off the bed and hit his head,” Gary said. “That’s what happens to me.”
“But remember what Clegg told us? No one else saw the ship. That means it’s up to us to find out if we’re in danger,” I said. “What if the ghost ship causes the Sea Rat to sink?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Aaron said. He picked up a fishing pole and swung it around like a sword. “We wait for that ghost ship tonight and find a way to make those ghosts tell us what they want.”
We all ducked as the fishing pole swung over our heads.
“Aye,” I said. “That’s why we need the captain’s permission to let us sleep on the deck. Then if it comes again, we can signal it and see what it wants.”
We had to duck again as Aaron turned around. The pole swung over us. But Gary was too slow and got whacked on the head.
“Ouch!” he yelled. “Why did you hit me? I’m not a ghost.”
“Sorry,” Aaron mumbled.
“We won’t need swords. I don’t think they work on ghosts, anyway,” I said. I took the fishing pole out of his hands. It was a good thing no pirate ever gave Aaron a real sword. He’d be the most dangerous pirate on the sea.
“Now let’s go, mates,” I continued. “We need to ask the captain ...”
“Ask me what?” a voice boomed from behind us.
We were so startled that we jumped in the air. Captain Stinky Beard must have been on deck the whole time.
“Ahoy, Cap’n,” I said with a salute.
He saluted back. “What were you brave little pirates talking about? It sounded important.”
“Um ... um,” I stuttered. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I looked at Vicky and Aaron. They couldn’t think of anything, either.
“Um, we were talking about a sleepover,” Inna said. “We thought it would be good pirating if we slept on deck. That way, we could take turns being lookout all night.”
Captain Stinky Beard scratched his head. “Sounds like a right smart idea,” he said.
Inna smiled. She sure was a clever pirate.
“Aye, I grant you permission!” Captain Stinky Beard said.
We were all so excited that we gave our pirate cheer.
“SWASHBUCKLING, SAILING, FINDING TREASURE, TOO!
“BECOMING PIRATES IS WHAT WE WANT TO DO!”
Captain Stinky Beard smiled. “Rotten Tooth sure has done a fine job teaching ye kids to take your duty seriously.”
“Aye! If our duty was snoring,” Vicky whispered to me.
I covered my mouth to keep from giggling. It was not polite to giggle in front of the captain. That’s a pirate rule. I learned that before I ever even came to Pirate School.
Then Captain Stinky Beard thought of something. “You won’t be too afraid of the dark, will you?” he asked Inna. He knew Inna liked to keep a lantern on at night. She did not like the dark. It made her a little bit afraid.
But Inna smiled bravely. “No,” she lied. “I won’t be afraid of the dark.”
“Aye, that’s a good pirate,” the captain said. “I must be heading inside now to look at some maps,” he continued. “That storm blew us off course. Have a jolly time on your sleepover.”
As soon as we were alone again, I gave Inna a thumbs-up.
“Good job!” I said. “That was fast thinking.”
“Aye,” Gary said. “But I thought you were afraid of the dark.”
“I am,” Inna said. “But I won’t be afraid of the dark tonight, because I’ll be too busy being afraid of ghosts.”
Chapter 8
BOO!
Once the sun set, we grabbed our blankets and raced up on deck. On the way, we ran into Rotten Tooth. He was still sneezing and sniffling.
“ARRR!” he growled. “Where do ye pollywogs think you be going?”
“On deck,” I answered. “The captain said we could have a sleepover.”
Rotten Tooth made a face. But if Captain Stinky Beard said we could, there was nothing he could do. “Aye? You’re going to sleep here all night?” he asked.
“Aye!” Gary said. “We’re going to look out for the ghost ship.”
We all turned our heads.
Gary covered his mo
uth. “It slipped,” he said.
“Ghost ship?” Rotten Tooth laughed.
“Aye,” Aaron said bravely. “And we’re going to catch one of those ghosts.”
Rotten Tooth laughed harder. Then he sneezed again. “The only thing ye will catch is a cold.”
I folded my arms and made a huff. We’d show him!
“Come on, let’s go!” I said. Then we all marched past him. We could still hear him laughing and sneezing as we set up our blankets for the night.
But soon, everything was quiet. And once it got dark, the crew of the Sea Rat was sound asleep.
We kept watch. We all took turns looking through the spyglass, but all we saw were waves. Inna didn’t even see those. She stayed hidden under her blanket.
“Maybe it won’t come if we’re not asleep,” Gary said.
“Aye,” Vicky agreed. “We should close our eyes.”
“Aye,” Gary said with a yawn.
“ARRR!” Aaron said, “If we close our eyes, we won’t see it at all.”
“I don’t want to see it, anyway,” Inna said, peeking out from under her blanket.
“That’s because you are a scallywag,” Aaron teased.
“Am not! I just don’t like spooky stuff,” Inna said. “Especially in the dark.”
As they argued, I kept looking. It seemed really foggy at sea. Then I took a closer look at the fog. It had the shape of a ship. I could see three tall masts and three giant sails.
“BLOW ME DOWN!” I hollered. “Ghost ship, dead ahead!”
“You mean dead behind,” Vicky said. Then she laughed, because “behind” was a funny word.
“Will everyone stop saying dead?” Inna said.
“Aye, good idea,” I said, because “dead” was one spooky word.
Aaron peered through the spyglass. “Avast, it’s real ... and it’s getting closer!”
I took another look.
He was right. The ghost ship was sailing much faster than the Sea Rat. In fact, it was the fastest ship I’d ever seen. It seemed to float over the waves.
