Port of Spies (6 page)
Authors: Brian James
Chapter 10
Sink or Sail?
Rotten Tooth picked up Jack with one hand and carried him out of our quarters.
“Stop!” Inna shouted. “He's our friend!”
“Gangway! He's a spy!” Rotten Tooth said as he marched up to the main deck.
Jack had saved us from the townspeople, so we had to find a way to save Jack.
There was only one person aboard the
Sea Rat
who could make Rotten Tooth change his mind. So I raced off to the captain's quarters to find Captain Stinky Beard. Aaron, Vicky, Gary, and Inna grabbed hold of Rotten Tooth's legs to try and slow him down.
Sea Rat
who could make Rotten Tooth change his mind. So I raced off to the captain's quarters to find Captain Stinky Beard. Aaron, Vicky, Gary, and Inna grabbed hold of Rotten Tooth's legs to try and slow him down.
“Cap'n! Cap'n!” I shouted as I rushed into his office.
Captain Stinky Beard was sitting at his big desk, plotting our course on a huge map. He looked up when I burst in. “Arrr, what is it, my little shipmate?” he asked.
“You have to come quick!” I said. “Rotten Tooth is going to turn one of our friends into shark bait!”
I grabbed the captain's hand and led him onto the main deck. Jack was standing on the plank, and Rotten Tooth was ordering him to march. The whole crew was gathered around to watch.
“Hold it!” Captain Stinky Beard yelled out, and everyone turned to look. He walked over to the plank and demanded to know what was going on.
“Arrr! These pollywogs caught a spy stealing supplies and now they want to save him!” Rotten Tooth said. “I told ye they were too softhearted to be pirates!”
Captain Stinky Beard scratched his beard. “Hmm,” he muttered. “The pirate code does say all spies must walk the plank.”
“But I'm not a spy!” Jack pleaded.
“Aye! He's not a spy at all!” Inna said.
“Aye!” Aaron said. “He's a landlubber we met on King's Island.”
“A landlubber?” Captain Stinky Beard said with a gasp.
“Yep!” Jack said. “I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just wanted to see what it was like to be a real pirate kid.”
“Aye! It's a true fact,” I said.
Rotten Tooth groaned. “Arrr! Don't trust him, Cap'n. He's a spy, plain as day!”
Captain Stinky Beard flashed Rotten Tooth a mean look. “Stow it,” he said. “If ye had listened to our little shipmates in the first place, ye would have found the boy before we left port. Now we have to figure out what to do with him.”
“Please don't make him walk the plank, sir!” we begged.
“No, no!” said Captain Stinky Beard. “I'll not have any kids walking the plank on me ship. He either stays or goes home.”
Rotten Tooth leaned in close to Jack. “Arrr! I'm guessing you're going to tell us how you'll be wanting to stay here and go to Pirate School,” he said.
But Jack shook his head. “No, thanks!” he said. “I just want to go home. Pirate life is too dirty. Plus, the food is
terrible
!”
terrible
!”
“All right, then, home it is,” Captain Stinky Beard said. “All hands, man the sails. Full reverse back to King's Island!”
Jack was saved!
“HIP! HIP! HOORAY!” we shouted. Jack shouted it the loudest. Then he came over and thanked us for saving him.
“Arrr! That's what best mates do,” I said.
Then Jack thanked the cap'n.
Captain Stinky Beard patted him on the head. Then one by one, the crew returned to their duties. And when Captain Stinky Beard returned to his quarters, Rotten Tooth returned to being mean.
“Ye sprogs better stay out of my sight!” he yelled. He was steamed that we had gone straight to the captain. “Ye will be getting extra rotten lessons for this!”
When Rotten Tooth left, Jack apologized for getting us into trouble. “I hope you're not mad at me,” he said.
“Are you kidding?” Aaron said. “A swell adventure is always worth getting into a little trouble.”
“AYE!” the rest of us agreed.
Slowly the ship started to turn around and sail back to King's Island. Jack promised us that when we got to port, he'd show us around. “If it's okay with your captain,” he said.
“I think it might be, as long as we ask him really nice,” I said. “Our cap'n is always fair.”
“Aye,” my friends agreed.
I kept my eye on the horizon. I couldn't wait to get there and explore that place again. And this time, the only thing we'd have to shop for would be Inna's shiny bracelet.
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