by Brian James
We all made spooky ooohhh and aaahhh noises. That’s because cursed treasure was super-spooky business.
Rotten Tooth heard us whispering. He had the best hearing of any pirate ever born. He could hear a mouse snoring even if it was on a ship anchored two days away!
“Stow that talk,” he roared at us. “There’s no such thing as cursed treasure. Those are just tales to scare wee pups like ye lot.”
“Aye?” I asked.
“AYE!” he yelled. “And ye better not go blabbing to the cap’n about curses and crabs! ’Tis bad luck, ye savvy?”
“Aye,” we mumbled. No sailor wanted to bring bad luck to their ship.
“Now if ye don’t mind,” Rotten Tooth said, “ROW! ROW! ROW!”
Chapter 4
Finders Keepers
“Shipshape work, matey!” Captain Stinky Beard said as Rotten Tooth unloaded the treasure chest onto the deck of the Sea Rat.
“’Twas no work at all, Cap’n!” Rotten Tooth bragged.
“Aye, because he didn’t do any work to find it,” Vicky whispered.
I covered my mouth to keep from giggling. It wasn’t polite to giggle while the captain was on deck. That was in the pirate code.
“With that spotty map, I thought it would take twice as long to find this here treasure,” Captain Stinky Beard said. “I’m very impressed.”
That made my friends and me smile real proud.
But then our smiles disappeared because Rotten Tooth took all the credit. “Aye, it was right where I thought it would be,” he told the captain.
I crossed my arms and made a huff.
“Arrr! That stinks worse than the fish gut tank,” I whispered to my friends. Then I held my nose and pretended to smell the worst smell I ever smelled.
“Aye,” my friends agreed.
“We should tell the captain the truth,” Gary whispered.
“Aye, but Rotten Tooth would make us walk the plank if we did,” Inna said.
“Aye! Plus, if we tattle on him, he’ll make us do chores for the rest of our lives,” I added. “And chores can sometimes be worse than walking the plank!”
The only thing we could do was moan and groan. But once Captain Stinky Beard opened the treasure chest, we didn’t feel like moaning or groaning anymore. The treasure was so shiny and sparkly that we forgot all about how rotten old Rotten Tooth was.
“Sink me!” I said. “That’s the richest treasure I’ve ever seen.”
“Aye aye!” Vicky said.
Then Captain Stinky Beard told every member of the landing party to form a line. “It be a pirate tradition that every pirate who finds a treasure gets to keep one piece of it,” he said.
“Arrr!” I whispered to my friends. “That’s how I got my lucky pirate hat.”
“Aye, and that’s how I got my shiny necklace,” Inna told us proudly.
“That’s how Aaron and I got our matching belt buckles, too,” Vicky said. Then she and Aaron pushed their bellies out to show us their silver star belt buckles.
“Once I got a golden goblet that way,” Gary told us. “Then I buried it and made a map.”
“Aye? Where is it?” I asked.
Gary scratched his head and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I buried the map with the goblet by accident.”
Aaron burst out laughing. “You must be daft to lose something that important.”
“You lose stuff, too, Captain Big Mouth,” Vicky said. That’s the name she called Aaron when he acted like he was better than everyone else.
“Arrr! I never lost anything,” Aaron told her.
“Aye? What about that time on our last ship when we went swimming and you lost your skivvies?” Vicky asked him. “You had to wear a leaf for two hours until you found them again!”
Aaron turned bright red. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that time,” he said.
“Well, nobody’s going to lose anything this time,” I said. “And even if one of us does, the rest of us will be there to help find it. That’s what best mates do!”
“Aye aye!” everyone agreed.
Then we began to think about which piece of treasure we would choose once it was our turn to pick. The chest was full of medallions, rings, necklaces, jewels, coins, and everything else that we pirates loved. Since we were the youngest, we were last in line. That gave us plenty of time to decide.
By the time we got to the front of the line, Captain Stinky Beard had gone back to his quarters and the others had all gone back to their posts. Rotten Tooth was the only one left standing near the treasure.
“Pirate Pete reporting for treasure pickup!” I said with a smile. Then I pointed to a set of silver boot buckles. “We’d each like one of those, please,” I said. There were five sets and we’d all decided to get matching treasure.
Rotten Tooth snatched all five sets and then slammed the treasure chest closed. Then he shoved the boot buckles into his pocket. “I’ll be holding onto these for safekeeping,” he snarled.
“ARRR! That’s no fair!” Vicky shouted.
“Aye! We earned those,” I said.
“Aye, and ye will most likely lose them, too,” Rotten Tooth growled.
“Hogwash! I’ve never lost anything!” Aaron said.
“Aye?” Rotten Tooth asked. “Not even your skivvies while you were swimming one time?”
Aaron crossed his arms and frowned. “Soggy sails! He hears everything!” he grumbled.
“Aye, that’s right,” Rotten Tooth said.
“It’s still not fair,” I said. “We found the treasure in the first place!”
“And ye will get your treasure,” Rotten Tooth growled. “Once ye be real pirates instead of wee sprogs, that’s when I’ll give ye your treasure.”
“We are real pirates!” Inna shouted. “You just don’t want us to have them because you’re a dirty rascal!”
We all gulped!
Inna was a real brave pirate sometimes. Sure, she was afraid of lots of things, but she wasn’t afraid of Rotten Tooth. I never heard anyone call Rotten Tooth names to his face before.
She crossed her arms and huffed. “Maybe we should report you to the cap’n,” she suggested.
Rotten Tooth twisted his face into a scary grin. “I’ll make ye mangy pups a deal,” he said. “Ye keep your traps shut and tomorrow I’ll teach ye how to swashbuckle.”
“SWASHBUCKLE?” we all shouted in surprise.
Swashbuckling was best pirate skill there was. Rotten Tooth had never taught us anything exciting before. If he was really going to teach us how to swashbuckle, it was worth a few boot buckles.
“Deal?” he asked.
“Deal!” we agreed.
Then we raced belowdecks to our room. The next day of Pirate School was going to be the best day ever. We could hardly wait for it to be morning again.
Chapter 5
Abandoned Ship?
“Blimey! What’s that stink?” I asked the next morning as we headed to the mess hall for breakfast.
Inna pinched her nose and stuck out her tongue. “It smells like rotten fish.”
“I hope that’s not breakfast,” Gary said.
“Me too,” Vicky said.
“Me three,” Aaron said.
We went into the kitchen and saw a pot on the stove. I lifted the lid and took a peek inside. It was the seaweed gruel the crew had eaten for dinner the night before. We were too tired from all the rowing and digging to eat. We had fallen asleep before dinner. By the looks of it, it was lucky we did.
“YUCK!” I said. My face turned as green as the mush inside the pot.
Inna pointed to the stack of dirty dishes piled up to the ceiling. “DOUBLE YUCK!” she said. Then she covered her mouth to keep from being sick. No one had cleaned up and the leftovers had turned gruesome!
“Arrr! I think I lost my appetite,” Gary said.
“Aye, me too,” Vicky said.
“I wonder why no one cooked this morning. Or cleaned up last night?” Vicky asked.
“Who cares? Today we get to learn how to swashbuckle!” Aaron shouted excitedly. Then he picked up a mop and started to swing it around like a sword. I had to duck to keep from being buckled on the head.
I rolled my eyes. “Aye, and you have a lot to learn!” I said.
Vicky giggled. “Aye, you can say that again!”
Aaron frowned. “I still know more than you,” he argued.
“Do not!” Vicky told him.
“Do too!” Aaron told her right back.
I held up my hands to make them stop. “Why don’t we go above deck and find out who knows what?”
“Aye! Besides, it’s too stinky to stay in here,” Inna added.
“Aye!” Vicky said. “Let’s race to the main deck!” Then she took off to get a head start.
“Gangway!” Aaron shouted, and took off after her.
Inna, Gary, and I followed them, but we didn’t race. We wanted to save our energy for our swashbuckling lesson.
When we climbed the galley stairs, Aaron and Vicky were waiting for us on the main deck. They were bickering about who had won the race. They were so busy arguing that they didn’t notice that we were the only pirates in sight.
No pirates were manning the sails.
No pirates were manning the rigging.
No pirates were swabbing the deck.
There were no pirates anywhere!
“Great sails!” I shouted. “Where’s the crew?”
Aaron and Vicky stopped fighting and looked around.
Inna scratched her head.
Gary spun around in circles.
Not a single one of us spied another member of the crew. The deck of the Sea Rat was absolutely, positively abandoned!
Chapter 6
Seasick Sailors
“Arrr! This must be some kind of trick,” Vicky said.
“Aye! I bet Rotten Tooth is hiding so he doesn’t have to teach us how to swashbuckle,” Aaron said with a growl.
I wasn’t so sure.
“What about the rest of the crew?” I asked.
Just then a voice boomed from behind us. “Arrr! Most of the crew be sick as dogs!”
We spun around and saw Rotten Tooth standing behind us. His face was as green as his beard! It made him look even scarier than usual.
“Sick?” Gary asked. “Blimey! How did everyone get sick?”
“Maybe it was the seaweed slop,” Inna said. Then she stuck out her tongue because just thinking about it was making her sickish.
“Aye,” Rotten Tooth groaned. Then he ran over to the railing and got sick himself. When he was done, he looked worse than ever. “Whatever it was, it sure be a powerful sickness,” he told us.
Aaron stomped his foot. “Arrr! Does this mean we’re not going to learn how to swashbuckle?” he asked.
“This means you’re not going to learn anything today, mateys,” Rotten Tooth said. “School’s canceled!” Then he leaned over the railing again.
We all turned away.
“I’m glad we’re not icky sicky,” Vicky said.
“Aye!” Gary agreed. “Last time I was icky sicky, I was icky sicky all over my shirt.”
Rotten Tooth stumbled over to us. He was so sick, he couldn’t stand up straight! “Arrr! Ye pollywogs will need to man the deck,” he said.
“All by ourselves?” Vicky asked.
We all gulped!
Manning the ship was an extra-big job.
“No, no! There be a few others to help,” Rotten Tooth said. He pointed toward the galley stairs, where a few other pirates were making their way on deck.
“Avast! That’s the night crew!” I said. The night crew never eats dinner with the rest of the crew. So they didn’t look sick, but they did look tired. That’s because they usually sleep all day.
“Don’t they need to rest?” Inna asked.
“Arrr! Not as much as I do,” Rotten Tooth roared before racing back to the railing. We covered our eyes. It made us sickish just watching him.
“That’s what he gets for double-crossing us,” Vicky whispered.
“Aye,” I whispered back.
“I’m heading back to my quarters,” Rotten Tooth told us. Then he ordered us to get to work. “Ye pups are always saying you’re real pirates, so prove it!” After that, he disappeared down the galley stairs.
I looked at my friends.
Then I looked at all the sails and ropes and everything else that needed to be manned. Most of the night crew that came above deck were already snoring at their posts!
“Mateys, this is going to be hard work,” I said.
“Aye!” Vicky agreed. “Even harder than rowing!”
“Or digging,” Aaron added.
“Or eating that gruesome gruel,” Inna said.
“It’s going to be impossible!” Gary exclaimed.
“But the ship needs us,” I said. “It’s our duty to try our best!”
“Aye aye!” everyone agreed.
We didn’t waste another second. We each ran to a different post and tried our best to keep the Sea Rat on course.
Chapter 7
Sailing in Circles!
“I said hoist the sail, not moist the sail!” Vicky shouted at Aaron. She was furious! Instead of raising the sail to make the ship go faster, Aaron had soaked it with a bucket of water.
“Yo-ho-ho! What’s the big deal?” Aaron asked.
Vicky made her hands into fists. “Wet sails make the ship go slower—that’s what the big deal is!” she roared. “Everyone knows that!”
“Arrr! Who says we need to go faster?” Aaron shouted back.
“Aye! We don’t even know where we’re heading,” Gary said.
My friends stopped doing their jobs and stared at him. I kept manning the steering wheel and tried to keep the ship straight.
“What do you mean?” Inna asked Gary. “You’re the one with the map! You’re supposed to plot our course!”
“Aye,” Gary admitted. “But when I went into Captain Stinky Beard’s quarters, I wasn’t sure which map to take. And since he’s sick, too, I couldn’t ask him.”
“Arrr! There are a lot of maps in there,” I said, trying to stick up for Gary.
“Aye, but it’s always the one on top!” Inna shouted.
I reached under my pirate hat and scratched my head. “That makes sense,” I said. Inna sure was one clever pirate kid. “Maybe we should have asked you to get the map,” I said.
“AYE! Then my dress wouldn’t have gotten all ruined from these slimy ropes,” Inna said. She’d been working with Vicky to man the ropes. There were ropes tangled all around her. They’d made her dress all muddy and yucky.
“I’m sorry,” Gary said.
Inna reached over and pulled his hat down over his ears and bopped him on the head. “There! Now you’re sorry.”
I waved my hand up in the air to get everyone’s attention. “Mateys, now’s not the time for fighting,” I said.
Gary wiggled his pirate hat over his ears again. “Aye. Fighting hurts my head.”
“It was your head that got us in this mess in the first place,” Aaron said.
“Aye! We don’t even know if we’re using the right map,” Vicky said.
“Arrr! You didn’t let me finish,” Gary said. “I found the right map eventually.”
“Then why did you say we didn’t know where we were heading?” Aaron asked.
“Because,” Gary explained, “when I came back on deck, the wind blew the map out of my hands. Now I don’t know which way is up and which way is down.”
Inna reached over to grab his hat again, but Gary stepped away just in time.
I took the map from Gary and looked at it. Then I turned it upside down and looked at again. I wasn’t the best at reading maps. It looked the same both ways.
“Blimey! Give me that,” Inna said. She took the map out of my hands. She was the best map reader out of all of us. “It goes this way,” s
he said. “Now, where is the Sea Rat?” she asked Gary.
Gary shrugged. “I think here,” he said, pointing to a spot on the map that looked like smooth sailing.
I wiped my forehead. “That’s good news,” I said.
“Aye,” Vicky agreed.
“Aye,” Gary said. “But we might also be here!” Then he pointed to a spot on the map that wasn’t smooth sailing.
“Avast!” Inna shouted. “If we’re there, we’re sailing right into Serpent’s Whirlpool!”
“Sink me!” I shouted. “No ship can survive Serpent’s Whirlpool! The water spins around so fast, it can drown any ship!”
“Well, which is it?” Inna asked Gary.
“Beats me.” Gary shrugged. “It depends on which way I was holding the map when I plotted the course.”
“Um, I think I know,” Aaron said as he glanced over the railing.
“Soggy sails! We don’t have time for you to be a show-off,” Vicky told him.
“I’m not,” Aaron yelled. “I know because there it is! Serpent’s Whirlpool dead ahead!”
We all looked out to sea.
Aaron was right. The water was starting to spin in circles. If we didn’t change course, the Sea Rat was going to sink to the bottom of the sea!
Chapter 8
Crabby Clues!
“One, two, three…PULL!” I shouted.
Aaron, Vicky, Inna, and I pulled on the rope with all our might. We were trying to turn the mainsail and catch a gust of wind that would take us to safe waters. But no matter how hard we pulled, the sail wouldn’t budge.
The ship was too much for us to man all by ourselves. We had tried to wake up the night crew. But once pirates start snoring, it’s almost impossible to wake them up.
“Serpent’s Whirlpool is still dead ahead,” Gary shouted from the steering wheel. He was on steering duty because we were afraid he’d get tangled in the ropes if he tried to help us.
“It’s no use,” Aaron said.
“Aye,” Vicky agreed.
“But we have to do something,” Inna said. “The Sea Rat is starting to sail in circles, which means we’re caught in the whirlpool’s current.”
