Just then there was a knock at the door. “Jason,” said Aunt Mary on her way to answer it. “Your ship has come in.”
“Boat,” said Jason. “Sailboat.”
A girl with a long blond ponytail ambled into the kitchen. She was older than Jason, and a lot taller too.
“Pleased to meet you,” she said, staring at the floor. “I’m Pearl.”
“Have a seat, Pearl,” said Mary, setting another waffle on the table. “So, your mom says you’re an expert sailor.”
“I was born on a sailboat,” said Pearl, digging into her waffle.
“I’d love to live on a boat,” said Jason.
“Have you guys ever been on one?” asked Pearl.
Jason shrugged and said, “We know better than to call the front the pointy end.”
“That’s a start,” said Pearl, smiling. “At least you won’t have any bad habits to break.”
After breakfast, Pearl, Amelia Bedelia, and Jason hopped on their bikes and headed to the marina where Pearl docked her boat. The boat was a beauty, built of real wood with shiny brass fittings.
“Mother-and-Father-of-Pearl?” said Jason, laughing. “That’s the name of your boat?”
“I had to give my parents credit,” said Pearl. “This boat was a wreck when they bought it for me, but I managed to fix it up, and now I keep it shipshape.”
As they put on life jackets, Amelia Bedelia wondered what other shape a ship would be.
Carshape? Planeshape? Dogshape?
Pearl untied the lines holding her boat to the pier. She showed Jason how to hoist the sails. When a breeze filled the sails, they began moving out into the bay.
“What makes a sailboat sail?” asked Pearl.
“That’s easy,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Wind blows against the sails.”
“And that pushes the boat through the water,” added Jason.
“Right,” said Pearl. “That works as long as the wind is blowing in the direction you want to go, like now. But how are we going to get back? What if you need to go where the wind is blowing from?”
Amelia Bedelia looked at Jason. He didn’t have a clue either. They shrugged.
“Don’t we have to wait for the wind to change directions?” asked Jason.
“You could,” said Pearl. “Or you could turn toward the wind and adjust the sails to take advantage of it. Sails are simply giant vertical wings, like on an airplane. The force in front of the sail actually drags the boat forward through the water instead of pushing it from behind.”
Pearl grabbed a notebook and drew a sketch to show them how a sail works.
“Sailing back and forth against the wind is called tacking. If you do it right, you can actually go faster than the wind itself,” said Pearl as they sailed along.
“Faster than the wind?” said Jason. “That’s impossible.”
“No, that’s science,” said Amelia Bedelia.
The lessons continued as they sailed closer and closer to an island in the bay.
“Have you ever been to that island before, Pearl?” asked Amelia Bedelia.
“Nope,” said Pearl. “I’ve sailed around it in races, but I’ve never bothered to go ashore. Funny how you don’t usually do things right on your front doorstep.”
“Or on your starboard side,” said Amelia Bedelia.
“Very good,” said Pearl. “You’ll be a sailor in no time.”
Pearl pushed the tiller over and steered closer to the island for a better look.
Jason stood up. “LAND—WHOA!” The sailboat ran aground with a jolt, tossing him off the bow and into shallow water.
“Man overboard!” yelled Pearl.
“Where?” yelled Amelia Bedelia. “I only see Jason!”
“I’m okay,” Jason called back. It was so shallow, he could stand.
“It’s a sandbar,” said Pearl. “Sorry—but Jason, no standing up while sailing. If the wind had shifted, the sail would have swung around. You could have been hit by the boom and knocked out.”
“He was knocked out,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Knocked out of the boat.”
“True,” said Pearl, as she lowered the sails and dropped the anchor to keep the boat from drifting away. Then they waded ashore. The beach was covered with seaweed and driftwood and shells. The island was overgrown with bushes and vines. They could hear birds chirping.
They found a narrow path and followed it to an old cottage. The roof sagged, but the sturdy walls were still standing.
“Knock, knock. Anyone home?” Jason rapped on the front door. The door creaked on its hinges, then slowly fell into the house with a crash.
“I hope there are no rats or bats or snakes in here,” Jason said. He walked into the cottage, into what must have once been the living room. Amelia Bedelia and Pearl were right behind him.
“If you’re trying to scare me,” said Pearl, “it won’t work.”
They stood close together, letting their eyes adjust to the gloom. The room had floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, but the glass was missing. Tall bushes growing outside had begun to reach into the house.
“Hey, what’s in those bushes?” asked Jason. Now they could see hundreds, maybe thousands, of black, shiny, beady eyes. Amelia Bedelia, Jason, and Pearl froze, like small birds under the spell of a snake. Thousands of eyes stared back at them, unblinking.
“If you’re trying to scare me,” said Amelia Bedelia, “it’s working.”
As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Amelia Bedelia tiptoed cautiously across the cottage floor. In slow motion, she thrust her hand into the leaves, into the center of a shiny black cluster. She carefully pulled out a handful of what looked like beady eyes.
“Yum, blackberries!” she said, popping one into her mouth. Blackberry bushes had surrounded the house, growing up to the roof and creeping in at every window.
Amelia Bedelia picked another handful and passed the berries to Jason and Pearl.
“They’re amazing,” said Pearl.
“Yeah,” said Jason, stuffing berries into his mouth. “There must be millions. We’re rich.”
They ate their fill and then some. Pearl even ran back to the boat, grabbed a bucket, and they filled that too.
“If we need tons of blackberries, we know where to come,” said Amelia Bedelia.
“Blackberry Island,” said Jason and Pearl.
“Weigh the anchor, Amelia Bedelia,” said Pearl when they were back on the Mother-and-Father-of-Pearl.
Amelia Bedelia lifted the anchor. “About twenty-five pounds,” she grunted.
Pearl smiled. “Exactly right,” she said.
It took all three of them to shove the boat off the sandbar and into deeper water.
“Hoist the sails,” called out Pearl.
“Aye, aye, Captain Pearl,” said Jason.
Wind filled their sails with a pop. Pearl steered as they practiced tacking on their way back to the marina.
At the beach house, they found Amelia Bedelia’s mother and aunt sipping iced tea and studying cookbooks.
“The Beach Ball committee assigned me dessert,” explained Aunt Mary. “And I’m supposed to bring a giant one.”
“You’re a great baker,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother. “Your fruit cobbler would . . .”
“Would cost me a fortune,” said Mary. “I’d need tons of fresh fruit.”
Amelia Bedelia and Jason looked at each other, then at the bucket of blackberries they had brought back from the island.
“Try some of these,” said Amelia Bedelia.
Her aunt and mother marveled at the size and flavor of the berries.
“There are lots more where those came from,” said Jason. “How many buckets do you need?”
After dinner, Amelia Bedelia and Jason played board games while their mothers played cards. Amelia Bedelia could hardly keep her eyes open. She was glad to finally climb into bed, but she was having so much fun! Her dad would have loved sailing with Pearl.
In the cozy bedroom, Jason
began reading his favorite part of Treasure Island to Amelia Bedelia. She was super tired, but she was also determined to stay awake this time, in case Jason really did go out the window.
Finally Jason turned out the light.
“Hey, Amelia Bedelia,” said Jason.
She was awake, but she did not answer.
“Amelia Bedelia?” said Jason, once more.
Amelia Bedelia kept her eyes shut and listened to the crickets. She kept her eyes closed as Jason tiptoed down the ladder, changed clothes in the closet, and snuck out through the window.
Amelia Bedelia leaped out of bed and dressed in a flash. She climbed out the window, got on her bike, and began pedaling like mad. Soon she spotted Jason up ahead.
Amelia Bedelia was going so fast that she almost ran into another bike crossing the road. She skidded to a stop and came face-to-face with Pearl.
“Amelia Bedelia?” said Pearl. “What are you doing? Why are you out so late?”
There was no time to explain. “Please, Pearl, come with me,” gasped Amelia Bedelia. “I’m worried about Jason.”
“What’s Jason doing?” asked Pearl.
“I don’t know,” said Amelia Bedelia. “He went thataway.”
They took off together after Jason. Amelia Bedelia was pedaling furiously. She was furious at Jason. Why was he sneaking out at night, all by himself?
They followed him down a narrow sandy path with tall grass on either side. Pearl and Amelia Bedelia set down their bikes and crawled to the top of a dune, where they could see everything. A campfire was roaring, surrounded by about twenty boys dressed like pirates.
Amelia Bedelia recognized most of the pirates. Jason had introduced her to them. By day, these boys worked at the shops, food stands, and restaurants on the main drag. But where was Jason?
“Check out those tattoos, gold earrings, and eye patches,” whispered Pearl.
“And the skulls and crossbones,” whispered Amelia Bedelia.
Just then the boys knelt down together as someone wearing a large coat with gold buttons approached the campfire.
“Jason!” Amelia Bedelia blurted out.
Pearl clamped her hand over Amelia Bedelia’s mouth and pulled her down behind some beach grass. A few of the boys turned around but did not spot them.
Amelia Bedelia could not believe her eyes. Her cousin Jason was a pirate!
Jason—Captain Jason—stood on a milk crate to address his crew of pirates.
“Shipmates, this Saturday night, every landlubber on this beach will have to reckon with us!”
“Har! Har! Har!” hollered the crew.
“The Beach Ball will be a soggy bust!” yelled Jason.
“Arrr! Arrr!” hollered the crew.
Captain Jason made an X in the sand with a plastic cutlass. “Shipmates,” he said, “X marks the spot. When the float of the Whereami sails into the intersection of Main and Pier Streets, we strike! Navigator, report!”
“Aye, aye, Captain Jason,” said the kid from the hot-dog stand. “I’ll hoist the Jolly Roger when the float is on the X.”
“Avast!” said Jason. “Gunner, report!”
The kid from the pet store put a model ship in the middle of the X. Then he turned to the crowd. “That ship will get a broadside of forty beach balls filled with water,” he said. He lifted one of the balls and tossed it high in the air. It landed with a BWOOOSH!, spraying a tidal wave of water that swept the ship model away.
“Jolly job, matey,” said Jason. “Wait until I give the order to fire. Then hurl the beach balls at will.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” said the gunner.
At Will? wondered Amelia Bedelia. Wasn’t he the captain of their fishing-party boat?
“Cookie, report!” said Jason.
The kid who worked at the cookie shop stepped forward. “In the confusion, me and my men will raid the dessert table and bring the goods back here.”
“Bravo!” said Captain Jason. “After Saturday night, every landlubber will know once and for all who runs this beach.”
“We do!” shouted the crew of pirates.
“The Beach Ball!” said Captain Jason. “If you can’t beat it, sink it!”
Amelia Bedelia and Pearl watched as the pirates started dancing around, giving one another high fives.
“Yo-ho!” they shouted, then began chanting.“Sink the float, sink the float, SINK THE FLOAT!”
Out of the pitch darkness, something swooped down and landed on Amelia Bedelia’s shoulder. She squealed, “What is it? Pearl, help!”
“Shhhh! Quiet,” said Pearl. “Oh, my gosh. It’s Flint, that parrot from the pet store.”
“Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!” squawked Flint. “Come and get ’em! Come and get ’em!”
Crawling on their bellies, the girls barely made it back to their bikes before the pirates overran their hiding spot.
On the ride back home, they talked about what they had seen and began wondering what they could do about it.
When Amelia Bedelia woke up the next morning, Jason was still sound asleep. Amelia Bedelia was not surprised. She went into the kitchen.
“Morning, sweetie,” said her mom, handing her the phone. “Talk to Dad.”
“How’s the surfing life?” asked her father. The connection was bad, and Amelia Bedelia could hardly hear him.
“Great!” said Amelia Bedelia. “I started with a skimboard, and Jason said he’d teach me to boogie board. Next I’ll be on a surfboard.”
“Sounds like you’ve been completely bored,” said her father.
“Oh, Daddy,” said Amelia Bedelia. “I’ve been sailing too.”
“Checking out the sales with mom and Aunt Mary?” said her father.
“No,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Hoisting sails with Jason and Pearl.”
“Pearl?” said her father. “Is Mom buying jewelry? Put her back on.”
“He wants to talk to you again,” said Amelia Bedelia, handing the phone back.
Amelia Bedelia was eating a warm blackberry muffin when Jason entered the kitchen, dressed and ready to go, like last night had never happened. She couldn’t believe it.
After breakfast, Amelia Bedelia, Jason, and Pearl sailed back to Blackberry Island. They’d brought along plenty of pails and buckets to hold the berries Aunt Mary needed. Jason and Amelia Bedelia took turns at the tiller. Pearl was working on her tan. “We make a good crew,” she said.
Once they had arrived at the island and anchored the boat in a calm spot, they jumped overboard and waded to shore. It was sunny and hot, a perfect day for picking blackberries. They had twenty empty pails, which they filled as quickly as possible, racing one another.
“Ouch!” said Amelia Bedelia.
“Watch those thorns,” said Pearl. “They’re like sharks’ teeth.”
“Only sharper!” said Jason.
After they had loaded the full pails onto the Mother-and-Father-of-Pearl, they headed back to the marina with Pearl at the tiller.
Jason gestured to the mainland. “Arrrrgggghhhhh! Let’s sack the city and head for the bounding main!” he yelled.
“Spoken like a true pirate,” said Pearl.
“I’d love to be a pirate,” said Jason.
Pearl looked at Amelia Bedelia. “Even if someone got hurt?” she asked.
“I’d never hurt anyone,” said Jason.
“What if someone’s feelings got hurt?” asked Amelia Bedelia.
“Or a whole town’s feelings?” asked Pearl.
“Feelings! That’s all girls worry about,” said Jason. “That’s probably why there were no girl pirates.”
“Sure there were,” said Pearl. “What about Mary Read and Anne Bonny?”
“Well, I don’t know about them, but I’d never have a girl in my crew,” said Jason, standing up to adjust his swimsuit.
“It’s lucky for you I don’t feel that way about boys,” said Pearl. “You’d have to swim home.”
Just as Pearl spoke, the wind shifted, s
winging the boom across the boat and knocking Jason out, into the bay.
“Man overboard!” yelled Amelia Bedelia. Pearl pushed the tiller over hard. The boat came back around. Amelia Bedelia looked for Jason, but the only sign of him was his bathing suit floating on the waves. Then Jason’s life jacket popped him up, sputtering and coughing, to the surface. Pearl retrieved his suit with a boat hook and dangled it just out of his reach.
“Give me my suit!” yelled Jason.
“Did you forget?” said Pearl. “I’m a girl. I may not feel like it. But speaking of feelings . . . how will people at the Beach Ball feel when you ruin the parade and soak them with water?”
Jason glared at the two of them.
“Who told you?” said Jason. He was treading water.
Amelia Bedelia looked at him. “You did,” she said. “I was worried about you sneaking out at night. We followed you and overheard your plans for the Beach Ball.”
“Are you going to tell?” asked Jason.
“We probably should,” said Pearl.
“You’re being really mean,” said Amelia Bedelia.
“We’ll make a deal with you,” said Pearl. “Promise us you won’t hurt anyone.”
“Feelings or bodies,” said Amelia Bedelia.
“Just think about what you are doing and how it affects others,” said Pearl. “Just remember, we are all in the same boat.”
“Okay,” said Jason. “It’s a deal.”
Amelia Bedelia Sets Sail Page 3
