The Not-so-Jolly Roger (6 page)

Sam nodded. “We have to go back and get him.”

“Boys?” The doorknob began to turn.

I reached for
The Book.
A baseball hat and a head appeared from under my bed.

“Ow,” said Fred.

Blackbeard,
somewhat shaken by his encounter with the Trio, swore off drinking and pirating, got rid of his forty-gun ship, the
Queen Anne’s Revenge,
and his three-hundred-man pirate crew. In June, 1718, he received his Royal Pardon from the Governor of North Carolina and settled in the town of Bath, North Carolina, as Edward Teach, Retired Pirate.

He should have stayed that way.

But he didn’t. I guess he got bored. He started pirating again. On November 22, 1718, Blackbeard faced Lieutenant Maynard of His Majes ty’s Royal Navy in the Battle of Ocracoke Inlet. Blackbeard lost the battle, his life, and his head (which Lt. Maynard hung from the bowsprit of his ship). Legend has it that when Blackbeard’s headless body was tossed overboard, it defiantly swam around Lt. Maynard’s sloop several times and then sank.

For roughhousing indoors with guests,
Joe
was sentenced to one weekend of manual labor, cleaning and organizing his room (closet and desk drawers included) under his mother’s supervision.

Fred
was lectured about playing outdoor games at the appropriate time and in the appropriate place. He was given the choice of helping
Joe
clean or paying to replace the lamp. He chose to pay.

Sam
wrote an amazing account of the incidents you have just read about and handed it in as his history paper. For his work on Blackbeard—
Awful Pirate, More Awful Singer,
Sam
earned an “F,” the reputation of being a real wise guy, and a chance to write a makeup paper.

He still owes the makeup paper.