by Ellis Byrd
Peck jumped up in alarm, her map forgotten. “What? Are you sure?”
“One’s wearing a green tricorne hat,” Graham reported, twisting the viewfinder. “The other has what appears to be a purple bandanna around his head, and . . . and a staff. Oh no.” Lowering the spyglass, he stared at Sir Gilbert. “That looks like Liza’s staff!”
“My thoughts precisely,” Sir Gilbert replied grimly. “It appears that there are pirate Phantoms on this island, and I’m afraid they may have captured our missing companions.”
Peck shook her head. “There’s no way any Phantoms are clever enough to outsmart Liza, Greely, and Cosmo. Can I see that spyglass?”
Graham handed it over, and Peck quickly found the two black shapes. When she lowered the spyglass, to Graham’s amazement, she was smiling a real Peck smile—excited and a little bit mischievous.
“Take another look,” she said, handing the spyglass back to Graham. “Don’t those Phantoms look a little bit . . . strange?”
Graham peered through the spyglass again. “They are rather odd-looking. Shiny and sticky, like . . .” A smile spread across his face. “Rather like two animals covered in tar.”
“Exactly,” Peck said with a grin. “I don’t know what they’re up to, but I’m going to help. First, I’m going to need some mud.”
* * *
Back on the eastern side of the island, Greely lurked behind a tree and watched the trail into the jungle impatiently. He had raced ahead of the others to spy on the Befouler, which was now moored in the bay. Greely’s fur was still soaked from the hour he’d spent lurking behind a rock in the shallow, murky water. But that was a small price to pay for the information he’d learned spying on the two pirate Phantoms standing guard on the dock—mostly information about the Befouler’s nefarious captain.
At last, he heard Cosmo’s voice and the sound of footsteps. Greely stepped out of his hiding place, and for a split second, he was rendered speechless.
Wylie was flanked by two Phantoms. Or rather, two Phantom-like creatures.
“What do you think?” one asked Greely.
“Impressive,” Greely admitted. “I had my doubts about your idea, but you two really do look the part.”
While Greely had been in the bay, the others had made a quick trip to the tar pit he’d spotted in the jungle. Wylie had helped Liza and Cosmo coat themselves in tar from head to toe, complete with tar-covered vines as tentacles. Then, he’d found two round white shells, drawn a black pupil with charcoal on the center of each, and affixed them to the middle of Liza’s and Cosmo’s faces. Cosmo had squashed and twisted his pointy hat into a tricorne shape, and Liza wore Greely’s purple cloak as a bandanna.
“Arrr,” Cosmo growled. “Me thinks you’ve mistaken us for some landlubbers, matey!”
Liza chuckled. “So, Greely. Any information for us before we board the Befouler?”
“The ship belongs to Captain Red Eye,” Greely reported. “I didn’t see him, but I overheard two Phantoms talking about him on the dock. They believe his eye has some sort of special ability, though there seemed to be some debate over what that ability is. One said Red Eye can spot traitors, while the other said his eye can read minds.”
Liza’s eyebrows rose skeptically. “Hmm. Anything else?”
“The dock where the Befouler is moored is only temporary,” Greely said. “Whatever business the Phantoms have on this island, they don’t plan on staying long.”
“Well, whaddaya say, matey?” Liza asked him with a grin. “Shall we board the Befouler and uncover Captain Red Eye’s dastardly plot?”
“Aye, aye!” Cosmo cried, and the two Alphas waved goodbye to Greely and Wylie before setting off down the path to the bay. When the shore came into view, Cosmo gasped.
“Ew.”
The bay had probably been beautiful before the Phantoms arrived, with white sand and turquoise waters like the rest of the coast. But now, a complicated series of docks connected by walkways and ladders covered the area, all built from what looked like dark, rotting wood. Slimy moss and dried seaweed hung from the ramshackle structure, which completely surrounded the Befouler. Two Phantoms stood watch on the walkway overlooking the sea, and when Cosmo squinted, he saw gears and pulleys.
“Is that a gate?” he asked Liza in a low voice.
The panda Alpha nodded. “To let the ship in and out,” she whispered back.
Graham could have built a much better contraption, Cosmo thought with a pang of sadness. And without all this filth and mess, too.
Straightening his smashed tricorne hat more firmly on his tar-covered head, Cosmo followed Liza up the nearest steps. The wind carried sounds of cackling laughter and loud chatter from the Befouler.
“Now, remember the story we came up with,” Liza reminded Cosmo as they crossed the first walkway. “Our pirate ship had a mutiny, and we’re looking for another crew to join.”
“Got it.” Cosmo began climbing the ladder to the next platform, Liza right behind him. “And we heard Captain Red Eye is the best—no, the worst pirate captain ever to sail the high seas! The foulest, vilest, most wicked of all the pirate Phantoms . . . They’ll think that’s a compliment, right?”
“Absolutely.”
Cosmo reached the platform and helped Liza up the last few rungs. “Captain Red Eye, the rudest, most revolting and fright—Ew, scuzzy!”
Wrinkling his nose, Cosmo hopped out of the puddle he’d accidentally stepped in. Whatever it contained managed to be both slimy and fuzzy. Cosmo tried in vain to wipe the stuff from his feet, but it clung to the tar like glue.
“Scuzzy? That really be you?”
Liza and Cosmo whirled around to see a Phantom emerge from the shadows of a nearby platform. He wore a red bandanna around his head, and an eye patch made from what appeared to be a black, shriveled palm frond covered his single eye.
The Phantom moved forward, tripping over his tentacles a little bit. “Scuzzy?” he said again, sounding eager. “It’s me, Luglow!”
“Aye, Luglow!” Liza said, making her voice low and gruff. “It be me, Scuzzy!”
Beaming, Luglow threw his tentacles around Cosmo in an embrace. “My old pal Scuzzy! I can’t believe it!”
“Here, Luglow!” Liza said, tapping the Phantom’s back with one of her vines. “That’s me fr—Um, me fellow pirate, um . . . Scummy!”
Cosmo stifled a giggle as Luglow pulled away. “Ah, my mistake! Well, Scummy, any pal of Scuzzy’s is a pal of mine!”
Luglow turned to Liza—or rather, he turned to the ladder, and Liza quickly sidestepped in front of it so that she and the Phantom were eye-to-eye patch. “So, Scuzzy, what brings you here?”
Keeping her gruff pirate voice, Liza launched into the story she and Cosmo had cooked up. “And we’ve heard tales about Captain Red Eye,” she finished. “How fierce and fearsome he is, and—”
“And foul!” Cosmo added, and Luglow nodded vehemently. “And vile!”
“And we were hoping we might join the crew of the Befouler,” Liza finished. “Can you help us out, Luglow? For . . . for old times’ sake?”
Luglow sniffled and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye patch. “What a terrible tale, Scuzzy,” he blubbered. “Of course I’ll help you!”
Liza and Cosmo shared a grin. “Arr!” Cosmo cried triumphantly.
“Arrrrr!” yelled Luglow, tentacles flailing. “Come on, the captain is hosting a feast on board tonight. I was running late—my eye patch fell off in the jungle, and I got lost searching for it—but I’m glad that happened because I might not’ve run into you otherwise! Follow me, mateys!”
With that, the Phantom spun around and walked right off the walkway. A loud splash followed, and Liza and Cosmo hurried to the edge.
“Luglow!” Liza called. “Are you okay?”
There was a gurgling sound, and then: “Aye!”
The Alphas stepped back as Luglow pulled himself up the ladder. “Got a little turned around there!” he said, flapping his tentac
les and spraying them with water. “Right, then—which way is the ship?”
“This way.” Liza grabbed Luglow and spun him around so he was facing the Befouler. The Phantom barreled down the platform, Liza and Cosmo right behind him, and stopped only when he bumped into another ladder. “Arr!” he said loudly, grabbing the rungs. “Some scallywag must’ve moved this again.”
Liza and Cosmo followed Luglow up the ladder. They stayed on either side of the Phantom as he led them down the next walkway, nudging him when he veered off course. At last, the trio reached the plank leading up to the Befouler.
“Here we go, Scuzzy,” Cosmo said, casting Liza a nervous but excited glance. She smiled encouragingly.
“Here we go, Scummy.”
Luglow wobbled up the plank. Adjusting his shell eye, Cosmo followed, with Liza bringing up the rear. The sounds of laughter and clanging dishes coming from the captain’s cabin were louder now, and it sounded as though the crew were chanting. When they stepped onto the deck, Cosmo realized it was a sea shanty, a type of song pirates sang while sailing the seas.
“He’s the foulest pirate on the seas of high!
Red Eye! Red Eye!
He’s clever, he’s spry, his gaze is sly!
Red Eye! Red Eye!
When you see him coming, your end is nigh!
Red Eye! Red Eye!”
Luglow sighed happily. “Isn’t that a great song, Scuzzy?” he asked, leading them toward the captain’s cabin. “I heard other Phantoms hate music, can you imagine? Not us pirate Phantoms, though. Gotta keep yerself entertained when you’re not plunderin’ and piratin’!”
“Arr,” Liza agreed, watching as Luglow felt around the wooden door with his tentacles until he found the rusty latch. He pushed the door open, and the chanting and laughter stopped abruptly.
“Captain Red Eye!” Luglow announced, stepping inside. “I’ve found us two new crew members—my old pal Scuzzy, and his old pal Scummy!”
Liza and Cosmo entered the cabin. A long wooden table took up most of the room, with equally long benches on either side and a large black chair at the head, which was in shadows. Plates piled high with dried seaweed and bowls of brown muck covered the table, along with mugs filled with what looked like swamp water. Smog drifted in through the open window, thick and greenish gray.
The Phantoms seated on the benches turned toward the door, squinting at Liza and Cosmo with obvious suspicion. At the head of the table, a dark figure leaned forward, and an enormous bloodshot eye appeared. For the first time in her life, Liza was grateful for smog. Their disguises suddenly felt flimsy, and she hoped the thick, filthy air would help conceal their identities.
“Is that so, Luglow?” Captain Red Eye stood slowly, his voice a low rumble. “And what makes you think I’d be willing to take two strangers on as crew?”
“I can vouch for Scuzzy, sir,” Luglow said, and Cosmo noticed he sounded nervous now. “We sailed together on the same crew once, long ago!”
Cosmo shivered under that fierce red gaze. He thought of the rumor that Captain Red Eye could read minds, and he thought I am Scummy, pirate Phantom! as hard as he could.
Liza stepped forward, her staff thumping on the wooden floor. “It’s true, Captain,” she said in a growly voice. “Luglow and I go way back.”
A beam of sunlight shone through the window, landing on Liza as she spoke. A sparkle on the top of her staff caught Cosmo’s eye, and he froze.
Captain Red Eye noticed it, too. “So, Luglow,” he said with a sneer. “Can you explain to us why, exactly, your old pal Scuzzy is carrying a staff topped with what is unmistakably an Alpha Stone?”
Cosmo twitched nervously, but Liza remained calm. “Aye, this be an Alpha Stone,” she said gruffly, slamming her staff on the floor for emphasis. “I stole it from the panda Alpha after Scummy and I trapped them in a pit right here on this island!”
Murmurs and whispers broke out among the Phantoms, and Captain Red Eye roared:
“Silence!” He waited several seconds, and when no one dared to make so much as a peep, he squinted at Liza. “Did you, now? All of the Alphas?”
It was a risk, but Liza decided to take it. “Aye, sir,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about those Alphas interfering with your plans, whatever they may be!”
Captain Red Eye leaned back in his chair, considering this. “That’s quite an achievement,” he said at last. “Perhaps you’d like to regale my crew with the tale of how you managed such a fantastic feat?”
Liza took a deep breath. She couldn’t tell whether the captain actually believed her or not. But before she could speak, someone behind them piped up.
“If it’s a tale ye be lookin’ for, I’ve got one for ye!”
Everyone turned to stare at the newcomer, including Captain Red Eye. There in the doorway stood the strangest Phantom that Liza had ever seen: dark brown, lumpy, and tentacle-less, with two hooks for arms and two thick peg legs. But the Phantom’s voice was familiar, though Liza could tell she was trying to disguise it.
Oh, Peck, Liza thought in alarm. What are you doing here?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Every eye in the captain’s cabin was on Peck, including the reddest, wateriest eye she’d ever seen. With as much flair as possible, Peck stomped into the smog-filled cabin on the peg legs Sir Gilbert had fashioned out of branches. The two hooks were courtesy of Graham; he’d made her swear to take care of them, as they were used to attach the mainsail to the boom on the Wayfarer. The rest of her costume was smelly, dark mud and a blob of thick sea foam that Eugenie had formed into a Phantom eye with a black rock pupil. Peck avoided looking at Liza and Cosmo, but she felt sure they recognized her. The Phantoms around the table were squinting through the smog, and Peck took care not to get too much closer.
“So, it’s a story ye be wantin’?” Peck growled, turning so her sea-foam blob met the captain’s bloodshot eye. “I guarantee the best tale ye ever heard . . . but first, I demand to know what ye be doin’ on my island.”
Captain Red Eye snarled, shoving aside his plate with his tentacle. “Your island? I never heard of no other pirate Phantom on this here island!”
“You never heard of Bandanna Anna?”
“Who?”
“Bandanna Anna!” Peck repeated, glaring around at the crew. “That’s Bandy to you lot.”
“And what right do ye have callin’ this your island, Bandanna Anna?” Captain Red Eye said in a dangerously low voice.
“I washed up on these shores ages ago.” Peck paused for dramatic effect. “Right after I lost my last feeler.”
She waved her right hook for emphasis, and several Phantoms winced and curled their tentacles.
“How’d you lose your feelers?” Luglow asked in a shaking voice, still facing the door.
“Quiet, Luglow!” Captain Red Eye barked. “I’ll be askin’ the questions. Now,” he said, facing Peck. “How’d you lose your feelers?”
Peck smiled beneath her mud mask. “Well, that be the tale, don’t it? All I need before I be tellin’ it is to know what business the Befouler has here. What say ye?”
The Phantom crew turned to Captain Red Eye, but he remained silent.
“I do love a good tale!” one said.
“C’mon, Captain! We can trust a fellow pirate, can’t we?” called another.
Captain Red Eye’s gaze never wavered from Peck. Then, a sneer curled his lips.
“Aye, very well,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “But be warned, Bandanna Anna. If this tale ain’t the best, the greatest, the foulest tale we ever heard, you’re comin’ out to sea with us—and walkin’ the plank.”
The Phantoms all chuckled darkly at this, and Peck swallowed nervously.
“Aye, it will be,” she promised.
“We’ll see.” Captain Red Eye lifted his mug and took a sip of greenish gunk. “Now then, business first. You ever heard of the Alphas?”
The crew hissed and sneered, and it took all of Peck’s willpower no
t to glance at Liza or Cosmo. “Arrr, those . . . those scallywags!”
“Arrrr!” several Phantoms growled in agreement, and the captain smirked.
“These two”—he gestured to Cosmo and Liza—“claim to have caught the Alphas in a trap . . . a claim which I have yet to verify,” he added menacingly. “And believe me, I will. You see, I too set a trap for the Alphas, just in case they started snoopin’ around where they shouldn’t.”
“The buried treasure!” Peck blurted out, then slapped a hook over her tar-covered mouth.
Captain Red Eye growled. “And just what do ye know about our treasure, missy?”
“Nothing!” Peck said, recovering quickly. “We pirates always have treasure to bury, aye?”
“Aye, we did!” Luglow cried. “And we set such a clever trap, you shoulda seen it. Noisy work, though. I think we might’ve caused a little earthquake or something ’cause the ground beneath us started to rumble and—”
“Enough, Luglow!” Captain Red Eye bellowed, and Luglow fell silent. “You see,” the captain continued, leering at Peck through the smog. “We needed to keep our treasure safe, and this here island was the perfect place. Now we’re ready to take the next step in my plan.”
Peck matched his leer. “And what plan be that?”
“The Befouler has been bestowed with great powers of pollution,” Captain Red Eye told her. “We’ve been using this here island to test it out, sailing close to the coasts. When it’s in motion, this ship can poison the waters, bring about storms, open Phantom portals . . . even cause tidal waves.” The captain stood slowly, placing two tentacles on the table and leaning forward. “Imagine our dismay when one of those tidal waves wrecked the Wayfarer!”
Another wave of laughter rumbled around the table. “A happy coincidence for us that the Alphas also happened upon this island where we chose to bury our treasure,” Captain Red Eye finished. “All we had to do was set a trap to protect it from their greedy paws. Now they’re shipwrecked, and the Befouler is ready to set sail for the coasts of Jamaa. We’ll destroy the land from the water, and the Alphas won’t be there to get in our way!”
